Penn State goes fourth in bid for trip to NCAA Championship

   Penn State, with junior Cole Miller continuing to lead the way, put itself in position to make a trip to the NCAA Championship as the Nittany Lions will enter Wednesday’s final round of the Washington Regional in fourth place after carding a 4-over 288 Tuesday at the Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.

   The top five teams from the six regionals going on all over the country advance to the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 26 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The top individual finisher from a non-advancing team will head for Rich Harvest Farms to tee it up in the individual competition.

   Miller, a former Northwestern Lehigh standout, carded a second straight 2-under 69 over the 6,885-yard, par-71 Tom Fazio design at Aldarra and is tied for second in the individual chase at 4-under 138. Tuesday’s even-par 288, combined with an opening-round 290, left the Nittany Lions in fourth place at 10-over 578.

   Ryan Davis, a freshman from Berkeley Heights, N.J., has had an outstanding rookie campaign and matched Miller’s 2-under 69, leaving him tied for 16^th at 2-over 144. Charles Huntzinger, a sophomore from Duluth, Ga., is tied for 33^rd at 147 after a 4-over 75, Alec Bard, a freshman from New Hartford, N.Y., is tied for 40^th at 149 after a 4-over 75 and sophomore JD Hughes, a Carlisle product, is tied for 66^th at 158 after a second straight 79.

   No. 1 Southern California, the top seed in the regional, rose to the top of the team standings with a 1-under 283 that gave the Trojans a 5-under 563 total. No. 24 Florida State, which grabbed the opening-round lead with a 6-under 278, fell back with a 4-over 288 and is just three shots behind Southern Cal at 2-under 566.

   No. 12 Kent State is another three shots behind the Seminoles at 1-over 569 after a 2-under 282. It’s nine shots back to Penn State in fourth at 10-over 578 and No. 36 Alabama is fifth at 12-over 580 after a 13-over 297.

   Southern Cal also boasts the individual leader in Justin Suh, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif. who posted a second straight 3-under 68 for a 6-under 136 total. Sharing second with Penn State’s Miller at 4-under 138 is another Trojan, Sean Crocker, a junior from Westlake Village, Calif. Crocker had opened up with a sizzling 7-under 64, but fell back with a 3-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round.

Florida State’s Henry Ellis, a redshirt junior from England, is alone in fourth place at 3-under 139 after firing a 5-under 66.

   Southern Cal’s Rico Hoey is alone in fifth place at 2-under 140 after a second straight 1-under 70. Jonah Texeira, a junior from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is tied for 43^rd at 150 after a 1-over 72 and Cheng Jin, a freshman from China, is tied for 49^th at 151 after a 2-over 73.

   In the Stanford Regional, No. 9 Baylor surged past host Stanford into the team lead with a sparkling 15-under 265 over the 6,727-yard, par-70 Stanford Golf Course.

   Combined with its opening-round 277, Baylor’s 265, the best round for the Bears in an NCAA Tournament round by nine shots, gave it an 19-under 542 total. No. 4 Stanford, the top seed in the regional, carded a solid 2-under 278 and is seven shots behind the Bears at 11-under 549.

   No. 27 Pepperdine moved into third place with a 6-under 274 and is at 5-under 555, two shots ahead of No. Oklahoma in fourth at 3-under 557 after a 2-under 277.

   No. 21 Georgia Tech, No. 45 Brigham Young and No. 41 North Florida are tied for the coveted fifth and final ticket to Rich Harvest Farms at even-par 560. The Yellow Jackets moved up the leaderboard with a 7-under 273, the Cougars carded a 2-over 282 and the Ospreys posted  a 1-over 281.

   Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke, a sophomore from Norman, Okla., grabbed the individual lead, adding a sizzling 6-under 64 to his opening-round 65 for an 11-under 129 total. He is three shots clear of Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, a senior from Portola Valley, Calif. and the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. McNealy fired a 3-uneder 67 after opening with a 65 and stands at 8-under 132.

   Baylor has the next two spots in the individual chase, a big reason the Bears are leading the team standings. Freshman Cooper Dossey is third at 6-under 134 after a 4-under 66 and junior Matthew Perrine is fourth at 5-under 135 after carding a 3-uneder 67. Both are from Austin, Texas.

   Baylor’s Hunter Shattuck, a senior from Jacksonville, Texas, is another shot back in a tie for fifth at 4-under 136 after a second straight 68. The Bears also got a huge boost from Braden Bailey, a sophomore from Groves, Texas who fired a 6-under 64, a 12-shot improvement on his opening-round 76. He is tied for 17^th at even-par 140. Garrett May, a sophomore from Hope, Ark., is tied for 46^th at 5-over 145 after a 2-over 72.

   In the West Lafayette Regional, No. 44 New Mexico is the surprising leader as the Lobos fired a 6-under 282 over the 7,411-yard, par-72 Kampen Course at the Brick Boilermaker Golf Complex for a 6-under 570 total.

   First-round leader UNLV, ranked 17^th, carded a 2-under 286 and is in second place, three shots behind the Lobos at 3-under 573.

   No. 5 Florida, No. 38 Purdue, the host team, and No. 20 Auburn are deadlocked in third place at 3-over 579, six shots behind the Rebels as all three came in at 1-under 287 Tuesday, the Boilermakers utilizing their home-course knowledge to full advantage.

   Big Ten champion Illinois, ranked eighth, sits just outside the top five in sixth place at 8-over 584 after struggling to an 8-over 296.

   Illinois State’s Trent Williams, a sophomore from Joliet, Ill. who is competing as an individual, leads the individual chase as he added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 68 for a 6-under 138 total.

New Mexico’s Andrej Bevins, a senior form Elk Grove, Calif., and UNLV’s Shintaro Ben, a junior from San Jose, Calif., are tied for second, a  shot behind Williams at 5-under 139. Bevins posted a 4-under 68 after opening with a 70 while Ben had a 3-under 69 to go with his opening-round 70.

   The Lobos also got a 3-under 69 from Andre Garcia, a redshirt junior from Mansfield, Texas who is tied for fourth at 4-under 140. Sean Corlon, a sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M., is  tied for 23^rd at 3-over 147 after an even-par 72, Gustavo Morantes, a junior from Venezuela, is tied for 32^nd after a 78 and Ben Folsma, a redshirt junior from Apple Valley, Calif., came up big with a 73 Tuesday, 10 shots better than his opening-round 83, and is tied for 66^th at 156.

   In the Austin Regional, the anticipated battle between Big 12 champion and host Texas, ranked 16^th, and No. 3 Oklahoma State, the top seed in the regional, materialized.

   The Longhorns maintained their hold on the top spot with a 4-over 288 over their 7,355-yard, par-71 University of Texas Golf Club layout. That gave them a 3-under 565 total. The Cowboys are four shots back in second at 1-over 569 after they fired a 2-under 282.

   No. 22 Mississippi is third at 8-over 576 after a 10-over 294, No. 50 Iowa State is fourth at 18-over 502 after an 8-over 292 and No. 26 Arizona State is fifth, a shot behind the Cyclones at 15-over 583 after a 9-over 293.

   The Longhorns are also prominent at the top of the leaderboard in the individual chase, with Doug Ghim, a junior from Arlington Heights, Ill., leading the way. Ghim added a 2-under 69 to an opening-round 68 to grab the lead at 5-under 137.

   Scottie Scheffler, a junior from Dallas, and Gavin Hall, a senior from Pittsford, N.Y., are tied for third at 3-under 139. Scheffler had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 66, but fell back with a 2-over 73. Hall added a 1-under 70 to his opening round of 2-under 69. Ghim, Scheffler and Hall are the three key holdovers from a Texas team that came up short against Oregon in the final match of last year’s NCAA Championship.

   Also for the Longhorns, Steven Chervony, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla. is tied for 39^th at 150 after a 76 and Spencer Soosman, a freshman from Westlake Village, Calif., is tied for 47^th at 151 afrer posting a 77.

   Iowa State’s Nick Voke, a senior from New Zealand, is alone in second in the individual standings, a shot behind Ghim at 4-under 138 after  firing a 4-under 67.

   In the Baton Rouge Regional, the wind came up, but host LSU, ranked sixth and the top seed in the regional, held onto its lead in the team standings. The Tigers struggled a little in posting an 8-over 296, but their 4-under 572 total is seven shots better than ACC champion Duke, ranked 19^th. The Blue Devils matched par with a 288 and are at 3-over 579.

   No. 18 Virginia is third at 4-over 580 after a 10-over 298 and No. 29 Northwestern and No. 7 Oregon, the reigning national champion, are tied for fifth at 12-over 588. The Wildcats carded a 1-over 289 while the Pac-12 champion Ducks struggled with a 301.

   The Tigers’ Sam Burns, a sophomore from Shreveport, La., maintained his lead in the individual standings after adding an even-par 72 to his opening-round 65. Burns’ 7-under 137 total is five shots clear of Oregon’s Wyndham Clark, a redshirt senior from Denver, and Duke’s Alex Smalley, a sophomore from Wake Forest, N.C.

   Clark, the Pac-12 individual champion, added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 72 while Smalley carded a second straight 71 as they shared second at 2-under 142.

   Backing up Burns for LSU are Luis Gagne, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla., and Eric Richard, a senior who is, like Burns, from Shreveport, both of who are tied for eighth at 1-over 145. Gagne posted a 1-over 73 while Ricard, who opened with a 68, struggled with a 77.

   Brandon Pierce, a senior from Covington, La., is tied for 14^th at 147 after posting a 76 and Philip Barbaree, a freshman from Shreveport, is tied for 27^th at 150 after a second straight 75.

   In the College Grove Regional, No. 2 Vanderbilt, the Southeastern Conference champion and the top seed in the regional, remained atop the team standings as the Commodores added a 3-under 285 to their opening-round 279 to stand at 12-under 564 for two rounds at The Grove Club, a 7,383, par-72 layout.

   Three teams – No. 35 Lipscomb, No. 14 Clemson and No. 40 UCF – are tied for second at 4-under 572. Lipscomb had easily day’s best round, an 11-under 277, while the Tigers posted a 4-under 284 and the Knights had a 1-under 287.

   Another surprising team, No. 39, Kennesaw State, is alone in fifth placed at 1-under 575 after a 1-under 287.

   Lipscomb’s spectacular round was sparked by individual leader Dawson Armstrong, a junior from Brentwood, Tenn. who fired a 7-under 65 to shoot to the top of the leaderboard at 10-under 134. Vanderbilt’s Patrick Martin, who had grabbed a share of the opening-round lead with a 6-under 66, carded a 3-under 69 and is in second placed at 9-under 135.

   Clemson’s Bryson Nimmer, a sophomore from Bluffton, S.C., is in third place at 7-under 137. Nimmer matched Martin’s opening-round 66 before falling back a little with a 1-under 71. A couple of UCF players – Manuel Elvira, a junior from Spain, and Kyler Tate, a sophomore from Winter Garden, Fla. – are tied for fourth at 5-under 139. Elvira matched par with a 72 while Tate carded a 3-under 69.

   Vanderbilt’s Theo Humphrey, a junior from Greenwich, Conn., is tied for seventh at 3-under 147 after matching par with a 72 and John Augenstein, a freshman from Owensboro, Ky., is tied for 19^th at 1-over 145 after a 2-over 74.

   Also for the Commodores, Matthias Schwab, a senior from Austria, and Will Gordon, a sophomore from Davidson, N.C., are among the group tied for 22^nd at 2-over 146. Schwab posted a 1-over 73 while Gordon contributed a 1-under 71 to the team cause.