Texas Tech grabs team lead in NCAA Championship; Auburn's Mancheno the individual leader

   They played a little catch-up on the second day of the NCAA Championship Saturday at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. with the teams from the opening round’s afternoon wave still having to complete Round 1 before Round 2 got under way.

   The championship got back on track, but nobody could catch up to No. 13 Texas Tech, which finished off a 4-under 284 first round and added a 1-under 287 in the second round for a 5-under 571 total that left the Red Raiders alone in first place.

   There are some heavyweights giving chase, chief among them Oklahoma State, ranked No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings and playing on its home course at Karsten Creek. The Cowboys completed a 1-under 287 and then added a 3-under 285 and are solidly positioned in second place at 4-under 572.

   The top 15 teams following Sunday’s third round will survive to play in Monday’s final round of qualifying for match play. The top eight at the end of Monday’s final round will advance to the match-play quarterfinals Tuesday morning.

   The Southeastern Conference match-play finalists, No. 6 Alabama, the runnerup, and conference champion Auburn, ranked ninth, made the biggest moves in Round 2.

   The Crimson Tide fired a 9-under 279 after completing a 6-over 294 and is alone in third place at 3-under 573, a shot behind Oklahoma State. Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Alabama are the only three teams under par for two rounds over the 7,460-yard, par-72 Karsten Creek layout.

   Auburn, which stumbled to an opening-round 300, improved by 20 shots with an 8-under 280 and is tied with two other teams for ninth at 4-over 580.

   Defending national champion Oklahoma, ranked third, shares fourth place with No. 28 Duke at 2-over 578. The Sooners, completed a 3-under 285 and then added a 5-over 293. The Blue Devils added a 1-under 287 to their opening round of 3-over 291.

   No. 4 Vanderbilt heads a solid trio tied for sixth at 3-over 579, the Commodores finishing off a 1-under 287 and adding a 4-over 292. Joining Vanderbilt at 579 were No. 14 Clemson, which completed a solid 3-under 285 in the first round and added a 6-over 294 in Round 2, and No. 29 Kent State, which matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added a 3-over 291.

   Joining Auburn in the trio tied for ninth at 4-over 580 were Big Ten champion Illinois, ranked 10^th, and Big 12 champion Texas, probably a little underrated at No. 15. The Illini and the Longhorns have matching totals in the first two rounds, each adding a 3-over 291 to its opening round of 1-over 289.

   Alone in 12^th is No. 2 Texas A&M, a runaway winner of the Bryan Regional on its home course, at 6-over  582, two shots behind the trio tied for ninth. The Aggies added a 1-over 289 to their opening round of 5-over 293.

   The goal Sunday is, obviously, to make the top 15 without falling out of touch with the top eight teams that will advance to match play.

   Volatility is to be expected. No. 33 Northwestern led the incomplete first round when play was suspended Friday, the Wildcats getting into the clubhouse with a sparkling 8-under 280. But Northwestern struggled in the second round with a 308 and at 12-over 588 will have to improve on its 19^th-place standing to extend its season past Sunday.

   Leading the way for Texas Tech was Ivan Ramirez, a junior from Colombia who is part of a seven-man logjam tied for second in the individual standings at 5-under 139, a shot behind individual leader Brandon Mancheno, the Auburn freshman from Jacksonville, Fla.

   Ramirez completed a 5-under 67 Friday and was tied atop the individual leaderboard before backing off with an even-par 72 in Saturday’s second round.

   Hurly Long, a senior from Germany, backed up Ramirez as he is in a group of four players tied for ninth at 4-under 140 after adding a 1-under 71 to his opening round of 3-under 69. Adam Blamme, a junior from Sweden, shared Round 2 medalist honors for Tech with Long with a 1-under 71 to join the group tied for 27^th at 1-over 145. He opened with a 2-over 74.

   Sandy Scott, a sophomore from Scotland, carded a solid 1-over 73 after opening with a 77 for the Raiders’ final counter and is in the group tied for 90^th at 6-over 150. Kyle Hogan, a redshirt freshman from Cypress, Texas, struggled to an 83 after opening with a 2-over 74 and is tied for 145^th at 157.

   Hogan is listed as Texas Tech’s No. 1 player, but that’s how this team thing works. When you have a bad round, your teammates pick you up.

   Mancheno proved he’s a pretty cool customer when he went 3-0 in match play to help the Tigers claim the SEC title, including a victory over arch-rival Alabama in the title match. He seemed equally unfazed by the pressure of the NCAA Championship as he fired a 6-under 66 in the second round to take the individual lead at 6-under 138. He matched par in the opening round with a 72. The 66 was the second-best score in the championship’s first two rounds.

   Doc Redman, a sophomore from Raleigh, N.C., and the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, and Clemson teammate Bryson Nimmer, a junior from Bluffton, S.C., give the Tigers two of the seven players tied for second at 5-under 139.

   Redman, the No. 22 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), added a 2-under 70 to his opening round of 3-under 69. When the opening round finally went into the books Saturday morning, Nimmer was the individual leader with a spectacular 8-under 64. He cooled off with a 75 in Round 2, but s still right in hunt for the individual title.

   Arizona State’s Chun An Yu, a sophomore from Taiwan, is also in the group tied for second along with the Clemson pair and Texas Tech’s Ramirez at 5-under after he added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 69.

   Brigham Young’s Patrick Fishburn, a senior from Ogden, Utah, completed a 5-under 67 Friday and added an even-par 72 to also join the logjam at 139. Kent State’s Chase Johnson, a senior from Barberton, Ohio., got in the clubhouse Friday with a 4-under 68 and added a 1-under 71 to get his piece of second.

   Rounding out the group a shot behind Auburn’s Mancheno is Vanderbilt’s John Augustein, a sophomore from Owensboro, Ky. who added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 70.

   Heading the quartet tied for ninth at 4-under 140, which included Texas Tech’s Long, was Texas’ Doug Ghim, a senior from Arlington Heights, Ill. who is No. 1 in the WAGR. Ghim, the Big 12 and Raleigh Regional individual winner, added a 3-under 69 to his opening round of 1-under 71.

   Ghim fell to Clemson’s Redman in a classic duel in the U.S. Amateur final and both were part of the winning U.S. side in the Walker Cup Match a couple of weeks after the Amateur last summer.