PALM BEACH SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 3 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's gold team holds a spot in seventh place in the 2025 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship after 36 holes at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Springs, Fla.

The Nighthawks combined to shoot 4-over par as a team in Tuesday's second round which was tied for the sixth-best round of the day among the 20-team field.

No. 18 Missouri S&T holds the 36-hole lead at 7-under par. No. 16 St. Mary's (TX) and No. 2 West Florida were the only teams to join the Miners under par after two rounds as they finished tied for second place at 4-under.

The defending National Champions and No. 1 ranked Colorado Christian Cougars reserve fourth place at even par. No. 14 Wingate finished day two at 2-over and in fifth place for the tournament. No. 9 Florida Southern rests one shot ahead of the Nighthawks after shooting 6-over on Tuesday to card a 36-hole score of 4-over.

The top eight teams after Wednesday's final stroke play round will advance to a medal match play bracket in order to determine the National Champion. 

However, one individual national champion will be crowned Wednesday as the single golfer who leads the entire 108-player field after 54 holes.

Currently, UNG junior Hunter Smith is tied for the tournament lead with Florida Southern's Colton Swartz for the individual lead at 6-under par. 

With his first sub-70 round since March 17, Smith exploded on the par-72, 7,074-yard PGA National on Tuesday.

He opened the day with two birdies in the first six holes to jump to 2-under for the round. A bogey at the par-3 7th set him back a step, but the second-year Nighthawks rebounded with back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10. 

Smith remained at 3-under for almost the entirety of the back nine before dropping an eagle on the final hole at the 556-yard, par-5 18th hole. His eagle helped him post his second-best round of the year and finish the day in first place. 

Smith was the only Nighthawks golfer to finish below par on Tuesday and remains as the only team member in red numbers for the tournament after two rounds. 

Senior Ethan Day and sophomore Colby Bennett both finished with a 2-over 74 in their second rounds. 

Day holds a tied-30th spot on the individual leaderboard while Bennett resides in 46th place heading into the final day of stroke play. 

Senior Hughes Threlkeld landed just a few spots behind Bennett at 5-over and in 50th place after a 77 on Tuesday. 

In Wednesday's final round, UNG will look to maintain its position among the top eight teams on the leaderboard in order to earn a berth into bracket play of the National Championship. 

Graduate student Jack Vajda will tee off first for the Nighthawks at 11:10 a.m. Wednesday morning. Smith will continue his quest for the Individual National Championship when he tees off in the team's final grouping at 11:54 a.m.