Lahaina, HI – Andrew Alligood of the University of North Florida got off to a birdie start on his first hole today that catapulted him into the lead after round 2 of the 2018 Ka’anapali Classic – Collegiate Invitational. California was nine under for the day and sits in first place headed into tomorrow’s final round at 541, three strokes ahead of the University of North Florida and nine ahead of South Carolina and Georgia.
Andrew Alligood shot 63 (-8) today for a two-day total 132 (-10), leading the field by just one stroke headed into tomorrow’s final round at Ka’anapali. Alligood commented, “You really have to play two different strategies out here, depending on the wind – if the wind picks up like it did today, you have to know where you want to be on the fairway and on the green.” He added, “I did a really good job of controlling that today and tried to keep myself 8-15 feet below the hole – I managed the course well and my putter was hot.” Alligood is a senior at North Florida and commented on the greens, “the greens were rolling at a really good speed today, you have to be in control of your putter out there because if you were above the hole, you could get a real fast roll.”
Team leaders after 36 holes, California shot 9-under today, putting them three strokes ahead of the University of Florida with 18 holes to play. Head Coach Walter Chun commented, “We really played good, smart golf today. The course was much more difficult with the wind, and I’m proud of the players for persevering all day long. We have a lot more golf tomorrow, and we need to continue persevering and staying patient.” Chun added, “Sebastian (Crampton) posted a very impressive round, and the team needed it from him. He hit a lot of good shots and made some clutch putts. He really did a fantastic job of grinding.”
University of North Florida’s Head Golf Coach, Scott Schroeder commented on his team, “Our guys played well today, we had Andrew with 8-under, Travis Trace who was 7-under and then Phillip Knowles at 5-under.” Schroeder added, “We have an older team, four seniors and one junior – they know how to compete in these events and for tomorrow, they just need to stay patient no matter what, and enjoy the views along the way.”
Four players are T2 at 133 (-9) through 36 holes today including West Virginia University sophomore, Matthew Sharpstene, Georgia junior, Spencer Crampton, Oklahoma junior Quade Cummins and California’s Sebastian Crampton. Quade Cummins commented on his round, “I got off to a good start and with the winds picking up, I knew I needed to make some birdies on the front nine.” Cummins added, “On the 6th hole, I had a good drive to about 175 yards and I knew I wanted to get it to the back shelf on the green – I hit to 20 feet and had an easy 2-putt for birdie.”
West Virginia University sophomore, Matthew Sharpstene stated about his round, “I was able to get up and down well today and not make a lot of mistakes out there – I wanted to make sure I was putting myself in a good spot on the greens.” Sharpstene eagled #6 on the Royal Ka’anapali Course today and said, “I had a good drive up the left side of the fairway which is where you want to be on that hole. I had 163 yards to the pin and hit my 8-iron to three feet of the hole and made the easy putt.” About the final round tomorrow Sharpstene said, “I just need to stick to my game plan - try to make some more birdies out there.”
University of Hawaii (host school) was led today by senior Cameron Kaneko who shot 70 (-1) and sophomore Justin Ngan who shot 71 today.
The fifth annual Ka’anapali Classic – Collegiate Invitational is a 54-hole, individual and team stroke-play tournament features golfers from Boise, California (Long Beach and Los Angeles), Clemson, Connecticut, George Washington, Georgia, Gonzaga, Hawaii-Manoa (host), Houston, Kansas, Northern Florida, Oklahoma, Sacramento State, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, U.S. Air Force Academy, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Updates and scores are posted on Ka’anapali’s Facebook page, Instagram @kaanapaligolf and #kaanapaliclassic18 or at golfstat.
ABOUT KA'ANAPALI GOLF COURSES:
Built on 300 acres of land once home to Hawaiian royalty, Ka'anapali Golf Courses present golfers with pristine conditions and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and West Maui Mountains.
Opened in 1962 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the par-71, 6,700-yard Royal Ka’anapali Course features wide fairways and undulating greens which make it both distinctive and demanding. The tournament-tested layout hosted the Champions Tour Ka’anapali Classic for 14 years, Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, the Canada Cup and LPGA Kemper Open, welcoming Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Jan Stephenson, Betsy King and other legends.
Complementing the Royal Ka’anapali Course is the modernized Ka’anapali Kai Course, which hosted Golf Channel’s “Big Break Ka’anapali.” Extensively renovated in 2005, the 6,400-yard, par-70 layout boasts an array of strategically placed bunkers, contoured fairways and resurfaced greens.
