Patriot All-America: Trophy, flight jacket within reach for Huff

Auburn University senior Graysen Huff turned in a second straight standout round at the Wigwam Golf Club Gold Course, persevering through chilly temperatures and gusty winds to fire an even-par 70. Huff sits alone in first place at the Patriot All-America Invitational after 36 holes at -5 overall. “I just think that the weather today put a challenge out there,” said Huff, playing in his second straight Patriot All-America. a senior at Auburn University from Eagle, Idaho. “I think my game held up enough today, and we’ll see what happens going into tomorrow.” Pepperdine University senior Joey Vrzich finished with a birdie on 18, and sits alone in second place at -4 overall after a second-round +1 (71). San Diego State senior Puwit Anupansuebsai shot up the leaderboard with a stellar -3 (67), and will join Vrzich and Huff in Thursday’s final group at -3 overall. “I got a lot of up and downs today, kept myself in play and made a couple putts when I had to,” said Anupansuebsai, a Nakhon Phanom, Thailand-native. “I’ve been playing well my past couple of tournaments and I just have to keep it going.” For Huff, an up-and-down round started on a sour note, double-bogeying the par-4 2nd hole and going out in two-over-par. But birdies on 12 and 17 got the Eagle, Idaho-native back on track, and in pole position to take home the winner’s F-35 trophy and authentic Air Force flight jacket. “You can’t win a tournament in the first two days – the last day is when you go out and win,” said Huff, who finished T-12 in the 2019 Patriot All-America Invitational. “Tomorrow is showtime. I’ve put myself in a good spot, I’ve got an opportunity in front of me and hopefully I can take advantage of it.” It was a tale of two nines for Vrzich, struggling on the front nine with three bogeys and a double-bogey and going out in +5 (40). But he would regain his composure on the back to birdie 10, 14, 16 and 18 to stay within striking distance of Huff. “I was challenged on the front nine, starting with a water ball on 2 and I bogeyed a par 5, which you can’t do out here,” said Vrzich, coming off a T-5 in last year’s event. “But to turn around on the back nine and shoot four under, I’m pretty happy with my score. I’ve got stuff to work on but it was good to be able to come back.” Lincoln Memorial University senior Dan Bradbury, University of Tennessee junior Hunter Wolcott and Texas Christian University sophomore Jacob Skov Olesen will play together in tomorrow’s penultimate group, with each player tied for fourth at -2 overall. Another 11 players are at even par or better, setting up a thrilling final round in the 10th Anniversary of the Patriot All-America Invitational. Illinois State University’s David Perkins and Pepperdine University’s Joshua McCarthy added to the Patriot’s hole-in-one tally in the second round. Perkins sunk a 9-iron from 168 yards on the par-3 6th for his ace, while McCarthy’s 8-iron from 184 yards found the bottom of the cup on the par-3 11th. Watch a live stream of the action at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEmpBRVCewbbhteDz24QsQw