Columbia News

Sophomore Trent Mierl led the University of Missouri men's golf team on Tuesday, helping the Tigers climb four spots in the team standings after a strong second day of play. Mierl shot a four-under 67, moving up 29 places on the leaderboard to third overall out of 75 golfers at one under par. His score matched the lowest round of the tournament so far, equaling Alabama's William Jennings, who also carded a four-under on Tuesday.

After opening with a 74 on Monday, Mierl started quickly in the second round by birdieing his first hole and adding three more birdies on holes six, seven, and eight for a front nine score of 32. He completed the back nine with one birdie and eight pars to finish at four under for the day.

The Tigers improved their team score by 14 strokes from Monday, posting a total of 284 for the fourth-best round of the day. This performance moved them from tenth to sixth place in the standings. Alabama leads at three under par, followed by Notre Dame at even par, Kansas at seven over, Grand Valley State at eight over, and California at twelve over. Missouri is tied with Florida State—ranked ninth in preseason coaches polls—at fourteen over.

Four Missouri players are now in the top half of individual standings after two rounds. Juniors Bradley Mulder and Veikka Viskari each recorded a one-over 72 with three birdies apiece; Mulder is currently ranked thirtieth at five over (75-72), while Viskari stands thirty-sixth at six over (76-72). Freshman Reese Roberts remains in the top twenty-five after shooting his second consecutive 73 to start his college career.

Missouri will look to build on its momentum when final-round play begins Wednesday morning at 10:27 a.m. CT.