MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. — Powered by senior Rodolfo Cazaubon, No. 38 North Texas roared back in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, posting Tuesday’s second-lowest round at 1-under-par 287 to move into second place.
Cazaubon holds the overall individual lead after shooting a 4-under 68, while North Texas, down by 11 strokes to begin the day, trails Georgia State by one stroke heading into the final round.
Cazaubon climbed to the top of the leaderboard with a round that was capped by an eagle on the par-5 17th hole. Cazaubon was 2 under after the front nine. After a double bogey on the par-4 15th, he fell back to 1 under. He bounced back with a birdie on the 16th and the eagle on 17, which moved him back into the lead. He is at 4-under 140 for the tournament.
UNT’s Curtis Donahoe moved into the top 10 after a steady round of even-par 72. Donahoe started the round with 11 straight pars, then had a birdie on 12 and a triple bogey on 13. Donahoe bounced back with birdies on the last two holes. He is tied for eighth place after 36 holes.
Marco Scarola of UNT bounced back from an opening round of 79 with a second round of 1-under 71. Scarola was flawless on the back nine with four birdies and five pars. He is tied for 24th with teammate Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz struggled Tuesday, finishing at 4 over to reach 150 for the tournament.
The Mean Green’s Gonzalo Rubio shot a second round of 77 and was tied for 32nd place.
Cazaubon has his sights set on his fourth individual title of the season and becoming the third straight Mean Green golfer to be the Sun Belt medalist. Ortiz won in 2011, and Ty Spinella captured the crown in 2012.
North Texas is going after its first back-to-back conference titles since winning the Missouri Valley in 1974 and 1975.
