CAMDEN, S.C. – It was a tale of two rounds for the Valdosta State men's golf team on Monday at the Camden Collegiate as the Blazers opened with a 299 score and battle back for a 279 in the second round for a 578 score heading into Tuesday's final round.  South Carolina Aiken leads the 11-team field with a 564 score on the par 70, 6,455-yard Camden Country Club Course.
 
"I was proud of the way the guys fought back after not an ideal opening round," VSU head men's golf coach Jared Purvis said.  "The low second round score proves these guys can compete with anyone.  In the end, you still have to convert shots."
 
The Blazers will be paired with Young Harris and Montevallo beginning at 8:30 a.m., Tuesday morning for the final round. Fans can access links to live stats of the final round by clicking on the link to the right of this story.
 
USCA holds 13-shot lead over Lee and Lander (577) heading into the final round, while the Blazers sit fourth after firing the only under par round in the second round with a 1-under 279.  VSU made the biggest jump in the field from the first round to the second, moving up three spots in the standings. 
 
Young Harris sits fifth with a 580 score, two shots back of VSU.  Montevallo is sixth (581), followed by Flagler at 584.  North Georgia is eighth at 587, followed by Piedmont College (589) and Greensboro College is tenth at 600.  Southern Wesleyan rounds out the standings at 615.
 
The Blazers' 279 second round is tied for third all-time in school history.  The school-record of 278 was achieved twice in 2006-07 and 2008-09, both under Purvis.  Individually, sophomore Davis Smith carded a 67 for the second round for his career-low round score as he is tied for 36^th after opening with an 82. VSU fired a 279 score in the first round of the Kiawah Island Invitational in 2019-20.
 
USCA's Bjorn Rosengren leads the field with a 5-under 135 on rounds of 72 and 63.  He leads Montevallo's Paul Murphy and USCA's Leo Johansson by two strokes heading into the final round as both sit at 137.  Nic Whittaker of Flagler is fifth at 1-under 139.
 
VSU led the way through two rounds in birdies with 27, edging Lee by one birdie.  The Blazers were tops in the field in par 4 scoring at 4.16 and was +16 on par 4. 
 
For the Blazers, senior Wesley Hanson is tied for tenth with a 143 score on rounds of 73 and 70, while sophomore Gage Smith sits tied for 14^th with a 144 score on rounds of 72 and 72.  Freshman Hayden Smith is tied for 32^nd with a 148 score after carding rounds of 78 and 70.  Davis Smith is tied for 36^th and senior AJ Ouimet is tied for 47^th with a 152 score on a pair of 76's.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for complete results and a recap of Tuesday's final round.