June 1, 2011

Columbia, Mo. - Mizzou Golf standout Jace Long did not have the afternoon he had hoped for in his second round of play at the 2011 NCAA Men's Golf Championships, but the Dixon, Mo., native certainly didn't waste time thinking about his misfortunes on Karsten Creek's championship golf course in Stillwater, Okla.

Long entered the day tied for fifth after shooting a 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday, but a series of unfortunate breaks left the nation's No. 25-ranked player scrambling for most of the round. Long was actually 7-over-par on his round at one point, but rallied to birdie three of his final five holes, including each of his last two holes, to stand 3-over-par for the tournament.

The late surge allowed Long to jump back inside the Top 50 of the individual standings and the Central Missouri product is just three shots outside of the Top 20 heading into Thursday's finale.

It was the second consecutive day Long finished his round with a flurry. He birdied No. 17 and No. 18 on Tuesday and did the same on No. 8 and No. 9 (started his round on No. 10) on Wednesday.

Long is in position to earn one of the top finishes at the NCAA Championships in school history. Shawn Jasper was the most recent Tiger to finish inside the Top 20, tying for 16th in 2005.

Individual play at the 2011 NCAA Championship concludes on Thursday. The top eight advancing teams will begin match play on Friday to decide the 2011 NCAA Team Champion.

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