07/29/2010 - Duke Sports Information

Three Blue Devils in Action at 52nd Annual Porter Cup

Lewiston, N.Y. -- Brinson Paolini led a trio of Blue Devils at the 52nd annual Porter Cup on Thursday with an even-par 70 in the second round of play. Incoming freshman Yaroslav Merkulov fired a two-over 72, while Wes Roach struggled down the stretch en route to a 77.

Russell Henley and Harry Rudolph III share the lead at eight-under 132. Nate McCoy is three shots back at five-under while Wesley Bryan and Garrett Rank are tied for fourth at four-under.

Paolini opened with back-to-back pars and then moved to two-under with an eagle on the par 5 third hole. Following two more pars he hit a snag with three straight bogeys to slip to one-over. He righted the ship with a par on No. 9 and added a birdie on No. 10 to get back to even-par. Paolini suffered a tough double-bogey on No. 12 before bouncing back to play the next six holes at two-under with birdies on No. 14 and No. 17. He enters the third round tied for 15th with a one-under 139.

Merkulov shot a two-over 72 for the second straight round and is now tied for 48th with a 144. He shot even-par on the opening nine with birdies on No. 2 (373-yard, par 4) and No. 9 (477-yard, par 4) and bogeys on No. 7 and No. 8. Merkulov suffered a triple-bogey on No. 10 but rebounded with birdies on No. 11 and No. 12 to get to one-over. Following a bogey on No. 13, he parred the final five holes to close the round.

After finished his opening round with a two-over 72 on Thursday, rising senior Wes Roach posted a seven-over 77 in the second round of play. He got off to a strong start with an eagle on the 552-yard, par 5 third hole before falling back to even-par after bogeys on No. 5 and No. 6. The Knoxville, Tenn., native capped the front nine with a birdie on the 477-yard, par 4 ninth hole to make the turn at one-under. Roach moved back to two-under with a birdie on the par 5 12th hole before his round fell apart over the next six holes. He suffered a bogey, a double-bogey and two triples over the final six holes. He is tied for 72nd overall with a nine-over 149.

Live scoring, tee times and statistics for the 2010 Porter Cup are available at www.golfstat.com.