April 1, 2006 - The University of Minnesota men's golf team is in second place after two rounds of the Augusta Invitational in Augusta, Ga. The Gophers fired rounds of 283-288 to finish at 5- under 571, six shots behind tournament leader Coastal Carolina.

Individually, Minnesota was led by senior Josh Persons. Persons held the first round lead after an opening round 68. He dropped into a tie for fourth at 3-under 141 after a second round 73. Freshman Victor Almstrom fired a pair of 71s and is tied for eighth at 2-under 142. Junior Bronson La'Cassie is tied for 17th at even-par 144 and junior Niall Turner is tied for 31st at 2-over 146. Turner carded a 71 in the second round. Freshman Andy Paulson shot a 73 in the first round and is tied for 54th at 6-over 150.

The final round is tomorrow at the par 72, 7,142-yard Champions Retreat Golf Club.

Augusta Invitational Results After Two Rounds 1 Coastal Carolina -11 282 283 565 2 Minnesota -5 283 288 571 3 Clemson -3 284 289 573 4 South Carolina-Aiken -1 286 289 575 T5 Mississippi, U. of +2 291 287 578 T5 UCLA +2 292 286 578 7 Augusta State +3 293 286 579 8 North Carolina State +7 293 290 583 9 Virginia Tech +8 298 286 584 10 Washington +10 297 289 586 11 East Tennessee St. +14 295 295 590 12 Notre Dame, U. of +16 299 293 592 13 Tennessee, Univ. of +17 293 300 593 14 Georgia Southern +20 296 300 596 15 Louisiana State U. +25 301 300 601

Gopher Results T4 Josh Persons 69-73=141 (-3) T7 Victor Almstrom 71-71=142 (-2) T17 Bronson La'Cassie 71-73=144 (E) T31 Niall Turner 75-71=146 (+2) T54 Andy Paulson 73-77=150 (+6)