OC’s Pallach near lead in Patriot Classic
IRVING, Texas (April 1, 2019) – A pair of roller-coaster rounds proved to be more than enough to put Oklahoma Christian’s Juan Pallach near the top of the leaderboard Monday after the first day of the Dallas Baptist Patriot Classic at Hackberry Creek Country Club.
Pallach, a senior from Mexico City seeking what would be his first collegiate win, shot an even-par 72 after an opening-round 73 and his 1-over 145 score put him in a tie for second with Cole Dillon of Central Missouri, two shots behind Lucas McCubbin of Texas A&M-Commerce.
Pallach had 10 birdies in his first 36 holes, tying for tops in the 97-man field. Two of those came in the final four holes of the first round, vaulting him into contention, and with six birdies in the second round, he held the lead for a time before McCubbin birdied three of his last five holes on the 6,909-yard course.
No. 13-ranked OC was in the mix in a wild team race in which six of the golf tournament’s 17 teams were within seven shots of the lead. Dixie State (Utah) posted a two-round score of 594 to lead Central Missouri and Colorado-Colorado Springs by two shots. OC and St. Edward’s (Texas) were three more shots back at 599, with Texas A&M-Commerce at 601.
The Eagles were nine shots out of the lead after a 302 team score in the first round but sliced into that gap with a 297 in the second round.
Pallach wasn’t the only OC player who had an up-and-down day. Junior Trevor Norby shot a first-round 74 and rose into the top 10 for a time in the second round before finishing with a 78. He was tied for 25th at 152. One shot back, tied for 32nd, was OC senior Garret White, who shot 75-78—153.
Sophomore Andres Brictson, who recorded his first career win last week in the St. Edward’s Invitational in Austin, Texas, posted an 80 in the first round but had six birdes in the second round en route to a 74. At 154, he was tied for 37th.
OC senior Cameron Brown also made a strong round-to-round improvement, going from an 82 to a 73, the latter fueled by four birdies. He was tied for 41st at 155.
In the final round, which will start at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Eagles will be grouped with Dallas Baptist, Central Missouri and Colorado-Colorado Springs.