May 15, 2009

Day One Results

Texas Grabs Lead After Round Two In Southwest Regional
Courtesy of Texas

NCAA Austin Regional round 2 results/round 3 tee times  | Photo Gallery 

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas junior Lance Lopez fired his second sub-70 round in as many days to retain the individual lead and help lift the Longhorns into the team lead Friday afternoon in round two of the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Austin Regional at the par 71, 7,412-yard University of Texas Golf Club.

After ending the opening round in second place, nine shots behind 18-hole leader Texas Tech, the Longhorns carded a one-over 285 - a team best at the UT Golf Club with its new 7,412-yard layout - to take the team lead after 36 holes.

Texas sits in first at eight-over par for the tournament, while Texas Tech holds second at 10-over par. Florida, the tournament's second seed, is in third at 12-over par, and UNLV sits in fourth at 17-over par. Top-seeded Stanford is in fifth place at 25-over par, just one shot ahead of sixth-place Lamar. The low five teams and the low individual not on one of the five advancing teams will move on to the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championships set for May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio.

Lopez (Missouri City, Texas) birdied the fourth and sixth holes to make the turn with a 37 before catching fire on the back nine. Lopez sank birdies at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 18th holes to finish the back nine with a 32 and end the second round with a two-under 69.

Combined with his opening-round 68, Lopez enjoyed his first back-to-back sub-70 rounds since his freshman season when he carded rounds of 69 and 65 at the 2006 Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala. It marked his first tournament with two sub-70 rounds since the 2007 Turtle Bay Intercollegiate in Kahuku, Hawaii. At five-under par for the tournament, Lopez holds a four-shot lead over UNLV's Eddie Olson heading into Saturday's final round.

Sophomore Bobby Hudson, the course record holder at The University of Texas Golf Club, birdied the third, sixth and 14th holes on his way to an even-par 71. Hudson (Memphis, Tenn.) is tied for fifth place at one-over par for the tournament after 36 holes. Sophomore Donald Constable also chipped in an even-par 71 and sank birdies at the seventh, 11th and 13th holes. Constable (Wayzata, Minn.) is tied for 18th place at five-over par heading into Saturday's final round.

Freshman Dylan Frittelli carded a three-over 74 on the strength of birdies at the first, 14th and 16th holes. Frittelli (Pretoria, South Africa) is tied for 29th place overall at seven-over par. Junior Charlie Holland rebounded from an 81 on Thursday to card a three-over 74 on Friday after sinking birdies at the fourth, 14th, 15th and 18th holes. Holland (Dallas, Texas) is tied for 51st place at 13-over par for the tournament.

Texas tees off in Saturday's final round at 9:40 a.m. Central.

2009 NCAA Men's Golf Austin Regional
Top 6 Teams after 36 holes (top 5 teams after 54 holes advance to NCAA Championships)
1. TEXAS 291-285-576 (+8)
2. Texas Tech 282-296-578 (+10)
3. Florida 293-287-580 (+12)
4. UNLV 296-289-585 (+17)
5. Stanford 294-299-593 (+25)
6. Lamar 296-298-594 (+26)
Texas Players
1. Lance Lopez 68-69-137 (-5)
T5. Bobby Hudson 72-71-143 (+1)
T18. Donald Constable 76-71-147 (+5)
T29. Dylan Frittelli 75-74-149 (+7)
T51. Charlie Holland 81-74-155 (+13)

POST-ROUND QUOTES
TEXAS SOPHOMORE Bobby Hudson
On round two: I played really solid golf. I did feel like it (his score) could have been lower. I had a lot of putts burn the edge today, but I just hung in there and kept hitting good shots and stayed out of trouble. I played smart golf, and I'm pleased with how I played.

On the team's approach to Saturday's final round: I just need to do the same thing that I've done, and we need to do the same thing as a team, which is to keep playing our game. We know this golf course well. We need to go out and have another solid round tomorrow.

TEXAS JUNIOR Lance Lopez
On his two-under 69 in round two: I turned at two-over par (after the first nine), and I wasn't happy with that. I felt like I had nine good holes in me, and it was time to get it together. I shot four-under par on the back and turned in the 69. It's a great, great feeling to help the team and show them I'm able to play and step up when I need to. It means a great deal, and everyone has been supportive. I just want to go out there and take it one shot at a time.

TEXAS HEAD COACH John Fields
On Texas' 285 in round two: I was really proud of the guys, and it started with Lance Lopez with that 69 today and the birdie on the last hole. He knocked it in there with a 7-iron into difficult pin (placement). I think that kind of summed up our day. It was a great day for the Longhorns.

On entering Saturday's final round with the tournament lead: It's definitely better than the alternative. It is exciting for us. I think our guys are really going to enjoy that tomorrow. They know they've got another great day in them tomorrow. I'm sure the conditions will be difficult, just like they were today. So, we'll get focused and ready for tomorrow.

On what he will tell his team heading into the final round: What they need to do is play one shot at a time. They need to enjoy themselves and this great facility that we have. They need to go out there and play the best that they possibly can and see where that puts us in the end. But, right now, this team is playing some really fine golf, and they should be proud of that.

TCU Falls To Seventh In South Central; Oklahoma State Hangs On To First
Courtesy of TCU

The TCU men¹s golf program dropped from fourth place to seventh overall after recording a score of 310 in the second round at the NCAA Central Regional Championships in Stillwater, Okla., on Friday afternoon.
 
The Frogs ­ who entered the second round in fourth place ­ struggled on the course as TCU notched a score of 310 en route to finishing with a tournament tally of 609 after 36 holes of action.  TCU needs to earn a top-five finish in order to qualify for the NCAA National Championship and is currently four shots back of LSU, who sits at 605.
 
Tom Hoge (Fargo, N.D. | Fargo South H.S.) had a strong second round as the TCU sophomore notched a 1-over-par score of 73 en route to finishing the day tied for fifth overall with a 36-hole score of 146 (73-73).
 
James Sacheck (The Woodlands, Texas | Zionsville H.S.) notched a 6-over-par
78 in the second round and stands at 151 (73-78) after two rounds of competition at 25th overall. Johan de Beer (Pretoria, South Africa | Pretoria Boys¹ H.S.) posted a score of 77 on Friday afternoon and sits in 33rd place with a 36-hole tally of 153 (76-77).
 
Travis Woolf (Fort Worth, Texas | Paschal H.S.) recorded a second round score of 82 en route to securing a 53rd-place showing with a tournament score of 159 (77-82) while Alexander Knappe (Brilon, Germany | Berufs H.S.) sits in 66th place with a score of 166 (79-87) after 36 holes of action.
 
Oklahoma State holds the top spot in the tournament standings with a two-round score of 585) while UT Chattanooga (598), Arkansas (599), Northwestern (603) and LSU (605) round out the top-five.
 
The third and final round of the NCAA Central Regional Championships will be held on Saturday afternoon at the Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.

UCF Takes Two-Shot Lead Going Into Final Round In Southeast

NCAA Regional results and Saturday tee times

SORRENTO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After battling back and forth for the lead throughout second round on Friday, the UCF men's golf team will take a two-shot lead over Arizona into Saturday's final round of the NCAA Southeast Regional at RedTail Golf Club. The Knights followed their opening round 16-under par 268 with a seven-under 277 on Friday for a two-day total of 545 (-23).

Also firing a 277 on Friday, Arizona sits in second place at 547 (-21) while Georgia (557, -11) and Charlotte (558, -10) are third and fourth respectively. South Carolina and Kentucky are in a tie for fifth at 560 (-8). The top five teams and one individual not on those squads at the regional will advance to the NCAA Championship, which is set for Toledo, Ohio, in late May.

Senior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla.) recovered from a double-bogey on the ninth hole to fire a three-under 33 on the back nine and finish the day with a 68 (-3). The round followed his five-under 66 on Thursday to put Johnson in second place overall with a two-day total of 134 (-8).

With a bogey-free 33 on the back nine, junior Simon Ward (County Monagahn, Ireland) led UCF on Friday with a four-under par 67. The C-USA newcomer of the year vaulted into a tie for seventh place with a two-day total of five-under par (70-67=137).

Freshman Brad Schneider (Valrico, Fla.), junior Devin Spies (Sarasota, Fla.) and freshman Blayne Barber (Lake City, Fla.) each carded even-par rounds of 71 on Friday. Schneider (66-71=137) is tied with Ward in a tie for seventh while Spies (67-71=138) is a shot back in a tie for 11th. Barber (69-71=140) is the fifth Knight in the top 20, sitting in a tie for 20th.

Arizona's Tarquin MacManus carded six birdies and increased his lead on the field to five shots. MacManus has 14 birdies and just one bogey through two rounds (63-65-128).

The Knights will again be grouped with Arizona for Saturday's final round and the two schools will be joined by Georgia. Barber will be the first Knight to tee off at 9:10 a.m. while Johnson and the final group will go off the first tee at 9:50 a.m.

UCF is hosting the event along with the Central Florida Sports Commission. In April, the Knights claimed the Conference USA Championship at the site, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. Ward claimed medalist honors, followed by Barber in second.

The final round will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Live statistics will be available at Golfstat.com.

For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.

Team Leaders
1. UCF 268-277=545 (-23)
2. Arizona 270-277=547 (-21)
3. Georgia 282-275=557 (-11)
4. Charlotte 273-285=558 (-10)
T5. South Carolina 273-287=560 (-8)
T5. Kentucky 281-279=560 (-8)

UCF Individuals
2. David Johnson 66-68=134 (-8)
T7. Simon Ward 70-67=137 (-5)
T7. Brad Schneider 66-71=137 (-5)
T11. Devin Spies 67-71=138 (-4)
T21. Blayne Barber 69-71 = 140 (-2)

Tennessee Extends Lead After Second Round At Northeast Regional

Scores were considerably lower Friday at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Northeast Regional, and Tennessee played right along in pushing its lead to five strokes over Alabama and six over Virginia with 18 holes to play.

Now not only are the Vols attempting to finish among the top five this week and qualify for the upcoming NCAA Championships, they suddenly find themselves vying for their first-ever NCAA regional crown.

"That's true, and I think it's good for our team to be in this position," UT head coach Jim Kelson said. "Anytime you have a chance to win is exciting, and our guys are enjoying the opportunity."

The Vols came closest to a regional championship in 2005, losing by two strokes to Wake Forest in Nashville. Alabama and Virginia also are vying for their first-ever regional crowns, so it will take another complete effort from the Vols on Saturday.

"It's going to be fun," Kelson said. "We just played solid Friday and that's what we needed to have happen. Everybody got off to a good start and we played a solid round. We're doing what we need to do."

UT, seeded fourth out of 14 teams at Galloway National Golf Club on the South Jersey coast, shot 3-over-par 287 in Friday's second round to stand at 583. Tennessee's second 18-hole score was nine shots better than its Thursday effort and was the afternoon's second-best team score, trailing only Alabama's 1-over 285.

The Crimson Tide, seeded second in this regional, improved two positions to second place at 20 over par 588. Virginia (589), coached by former Vols assistant Bowen Sargent, is third, followed by Wake Forest (594) and Illinois (595). Sixth-place Colorado State is at 599, or 16 strokes behind the Vols. Top-seeded Clemson stands ninth at 609.

Darren Renwick continues to battle for his first collegiate individual championship. The freshman nearly matched his first-round score, shooting a 1-over 72 to settle into a tie for second at 1-over 143. Renwick birdied three of the four par-5s -- Nos. 9, 11 and 16 -- but couldn't quite offset bogeys at five, seven, 13 and the 249-yard, par-3 17th.

Chris Paisley responded with a 1-under-par 70, eight shots better than his opening 78. After a bogey at No. 2, Paisley bagged his first birdie of the tournament on the par-4 third hole. He birdied again at the seventh, then birdied 11 and 12 to improve to 3 under for the day. Bogeys at Nos. 13 and 16 dropped Paisley into a tie for 16th at 6-over 148.

Robin Wingardh shot a 1-over-par 72 to improve 17 positions on the leaderboard. Bogeys at four and eight were offset with a front-nine closing birdie at the par-5 ninth. The sophomore birdied the 10th and 12th holes around a bogey at No. 11 before ending with a bogey at the 486-yard, par-4 18th. Wingardh, tied for 27th at 10-over 152, hasn't finished outside the top 20 since early February, six tournaments ago.

"The last hole was a pretty tricky pin, but we did drop a couple more strokes there at the end than we wanted to that's for sure," Kelson said.

David Holmes stayed in the top 10 with a 73 to equal his Thursday score. The Knoxville junior tasted first place on the leaderboard for the second day in a row, climbing to 2 under par through 13 holes. Holmes opened with a birdie, then after a bogey at 11 responded with consecutive birdies at 12 and 13 before tumbling with a stretch of four bogeys over his final five holes. Holmes is tied for ninth at 4-over 146.

Garrick Porteous improved his score by one stroke over Thursday with a 2-over 73, keeping him in a tie for 13th at 5-over 147. The freshman birdied Nos. 1 and 9 to offset a double bogey at the seventh. He birdied twice more on the back nine -- 11 and 16 -- but carded four straight bogeys in between.

All five Vols finished the day scoring within three strokes (70-73) of one another.

"We have been really consistent from top to bottom and it's hard to beat that," Kelson said. "It's something we have lacked this year, so I think it is a good sign. We just need to do the same thing Saturday."

Kent State's John Hahn eagled his final hole Friday to swipe the individual lead, capping a 4-under-par 67 that left him even for the championship. Renwick and Wisconsin's Dan Woltman (69), competing as an individual qualifier, are tied for second place one stroke back, and one stroke ahead of Clemson's Kyle Stanley (72) in fourth.

The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams move on to the NCAA Championships on May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Playoffs and tie-breakers will be used Saturday, if necessary, to determine advancement to the finals.

The Vols are paired with Alabama and Virginia for Saturday's final round, teeing off on the No. 1 hole at 9:10 a.m. Eastern time. High temperatures are expected to reach the mid-70s, with winds increasing to better than 15 mph and a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Arizona State Plays Clean, Holds Onto First In West

DALY CITY, Calif – Arizona State received three bogey-free rounds en route to a second round total of 13-under par 275 and holds a six-shot lead after two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf West Regional Championships that is being contested at the par-72, 6,849-yard Lake Merced Golf Club.

Jesper Kennegard (68), Chan Kim (67) and Scott Pinkney (70) combined to shoot 11-under par without a bogey on Friday to help the Sun Devils to a 36-hole total of 22-under par 554. Oregon posted a second-round score of 10-under par 278 and is in second place at 16-under par 560.

San Diego, which began the day in seventh place, posted a 10-under par
278 to move into third place at 10-under par 566. Gunner Wiebe led the Toreros’ climb up the leaderboard as he carded a second-day 4-under par 68.

Texas A&M (567) is in fourth place and Southern California rounds out the top five with a 7-under par score of 569. San Francisco (571), New Mexico (572) and San Diego State (573) are within four shots of fifth place.

Kennegard, who opened the second round in second place, shot a 4-under
68 and leads the field with a 10-under par 134. The Arizona State sophomore holds a three-shot lead over first-round leader Matthew Giles of USC, who is in second place with a 7-under par score of 137. Kim and Robbie Ziegler are tied for third with 6-under par totals of 138. Five players are tied for fifth at 5-under par 139.

The 54-hole tournament concludes on Saturday with the first tee time set for 8:30 a.m. The top five teams, along with the top individual not on a qualifying team, advance to the NCAA Championships scheduled for May 26-30 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

Arizona State is seeking its fourth outright title and first since 2001.
The Sun Devils have won or tied for a regional title five times and are eyeing their 16th NCAA Championships appearance since 1993.

2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf West Regional May 14-16, 2009 Lake Merced Golf Club Daly City, Calif.

Team Scores
1. Arizona State – 279-275 - 554 (-22)
2. Oregon – 282-278 - 560 (-16)
3. San Diego – 288-278 - 566 (-10)
4. Texas A&M – 281-286 - 567 (-9)
5. Southern California – 285-284 - 569 (-7) 6. San Francisco – 291-280 - 571 (-5) 7. New Mexico – 280-292 - 572 (-4) 8. San Diego State – 286-287 - 573 (-3) 9. UC Irvine – 289-287 - 576 (E) T10. UC Davis – 298-285 - 583 (+7) T10. Oregon State – 300-283 - 583 (+7) 12. Colorado – 291-294 - 585 (+9) 13. Kansas State – 294-292 - 586 - (+10)

Top 10 Individuals
1. Jesper Kennegard (Arizona State) – 66-68 - 134 (-10) 2. Matthew Giles (USC) – 65-72 - 137 (-7) T3. Chan Kim (Arizona State) – 71-67 – 138 (-6) T3. Robbie Ziegler (Oregon) – 69-69 – 138 (-6) T5. Knut Borsheim (Arizona State) – 69-70 – 139 (-5) T5. John Hurley (Texas A&M) – 67-72 – 139 (-5) T5. Brady Johnson* (BYU) – 67-72 – 139 (-5) T5. Kyle Prolo (San Francisco) – 71-68 – 139 (-5) T5. Isaiah Telles (Oregon) – 72-67 – 139 (-5) T10. Tom Glissmeyer (Southern California) – 72-68 – 140 (-4) T10. Daniel Miernicki (Oregon) – 69-71 – 140 (-4) T10. Steve Saunders (New Mexico) – 67-73 – 140 (-4)

* - Playing as an individual

Rain Forces Suspension Of Second Round In Central Regional

The 19th-ranked UCLA men's golf team was in sole possession of second place Friday when play was suspended due to inclement weather at the NCAA Central Regional in Bowling Green, KY.

A pair of weather delays forced all 14 teams to suspend play and return Saturday at 7:30 a.m. to complete the second round. The final round will commence immediately following from the first and 10th tees.

Friday's first weather delay came at 1:08 p.m. EDT and lasted until 3:18 p.m. At the time, the Bruins were nearing the turn. Clouds and thunder moved in less than an hour later and play was suspended a second time until 6:40 p.m. before the teams were sent home for the night.

At the end of the day, UCLA had built a comfortable margin in second place. The Bruins were at five-over par trailing only first-place Washington (-4). UCLA was five shots ahead of Duke, Ohio State and Louisville -- all at 10-over par. For the round, the Bruins were one-over par.

Individually, no Bruin player was more than two-over par on his round. Senior Erik Flores was one-over par on his round through 13 holes, but one-under par on the inward nine. Freshman Gregor Main was one-under par on the day, and one-over par on the back nine after bogeying his last hole, the par four 10th. Sophomore Philip Francis was even par through 11 holes and teammate Connor Driscoll was one-over par through 13 holes, one-under on the back nine. Freshman Alex Kim was two-over par on his round, even on the back nine.

On the leader-board, Francis was fourth at one-under, Main tied for fifth at even par, Flores and Driscoll were tied for 19th at three-over par and Kim tied for 48th at eight-over par.

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