#5 Arkansas Posts Best Round for Day 2 at Fallen Oak Collegiate
SAUCIER, Miss. – The fifth-ranked Arkansas men’s golf program, in fifth after day one, posted the best round of the day on Sunday, a 13-under-par 275, and moved into second place with a 36-hole total of 557 (-19) at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational, played at the par-72 Fallen Oak Golf Club.
Five Razorbacks shot below par in round two. Leading the way was Niilo Maki-Petaja and John Daly II, each posting a 4-under-par 68. Erich Fortlage came in with a 3-under 69 and Cam Smith carded a 2-under 70. Willie Gordon, who is playing as an individual, also shot a second-round 70.
LSU, ranked ninth, continued its strong play with a 12-under 276 in round two and leads the Razorbacks by six strokes with a two-day total of 549 (-27). Arkansas holds a three-shot lead over #20 Alabama (-16) with #18 Illinois (-13) and #7 Ole Miss (-12) rounding out the top five.
Fortlage and Smith lead the Razorbacks through 36 holes, each tying for sixth place with a 5-under total of 139. On Sunday, Fortlage climbed nine spots up the leaderboard with a 3-under 69. He birdied holes 2 and 3, then reeled off nine pars before getting birdies on holes 13 and 15. He dropped a shot on 17, which was playing as the toughest hole for the day at +0.38.
Smith grinded his way through an up-and-down day. After a birdie on hole 1, he bogeyed holes 4 and 5. The junior made the turn at even par with a birdie on hole 7. Smith fell to 1-over for the day with a bogey on 11 but closed his round with birdies on holes 13, 15 and 18 for his 2-under 70.
Maki-Petaja improved 17 spots to a tie for 11th with his 4-under 68. The junior birdied holes 1, 6, 7, 13 and 14 before dropping a shot on 17. Daly managed a bogey-free round for his 68 and rocketed up the leaderboard into a tie for 16th. The senior started with six pars, then birdied holes 7 and 8. On the inward nine, Daly also had seven pars and two birdies.
Gordon moved up 10 spots into a tie for 26th, shooting a 2-under 70. The Hot Springs freshman started on hole 10 with a bogey before getting back to even with a birdie on 13. He dropped a shot on 18, then played his final nine holes bogey-free with birdies on holes 1, 5 and 7.
Gerardo Gomez, who shot 71 in the opening round, was 2-over on Sunday with four bogeys and four birdies, with a double on the par-4 9th leading to his 74.
The Invitational concludes with 18 holes on Monday. The round on Monday will additionally be the last for the Razorbacks in the fall portion of the 2025-26 schedule.
Fallen Oak Collegiate
Fallen Oak Golf Club || Saucier, Miss.
co-hosts: Southern Miss, Ole Miss and Mississippi State
Oct. 18-20, 2025
Par: 72 • 7,487 yards
Format: 5 count 4 ||18 holes each day
Results Thru Rd2:
1 #9 LSU 273-276=549 / -27
2 #5 Arkansas 282-275=557 / -19
3 #20 Alabama 279-281=560 / -16
4 #18 Illinois 284-279=563 / -13
5 #7 Ole Miss 278-286=564 / -12
6 #19 Tennessee 287-281=568 / -8
7 #36 Georgia 281-289=570 / -6
8 Chattanooga 283-292=575 / -1
T9 Southern Miss 294-283=577 / +1
T9 UNLV 290-287=577 / +1
11 Mississippi State 294-284=578 / +2
12 Iowa 292-288=580 / +4
13 Wisconsin 291-293=584 / +8
14 #38 South Carolina 292-302=594 / +18
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