Ohio State moves into the lead after two rounds of NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional

   Give Ohio State credit. A veteran group was not at its best in the Big Ten Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course, an A.W. Tillinghast classic.

   But with an opportunity to earn a ticket to the NCAA Championship, the Buckeyes are answering the bell in the Myrtle Beach Regional. Ohio State fired a 7-under-par 281 over the 6,950-yard, par-72 TPC of Myrtle Beach layout in Murrels Inlet, S.C. in Tuesday’s second round and surged to the top of a tightly bunched team leaderboard.

   Combined with its opening-round 284, Tuesday’s solid round left Ohio State, No. 46 in the latest Golfstat rankings and seeded eighth in the regional, with an 11-under 565 total.

   Right on the Buckeyes’ heels were No. 3 Wake Forest, the top seed, and Big Ten champion Illinois, ranked 23^rd and seeded fourth, both of which are tied for second, just two shots behind Ohio State at 9-under 567. The Demon Deacons, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, matched Ohio State’s 7-under 281 after opening with a 2-under 286. The Fighting Illini had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 9-under 279, but fell back a little with an even-par 288 Tuesday.

   No. 34 UNLV, seeded sixth, was five shots behind Wake Forest and Illinois in fourth place at 4-under 572 after adding a 4-under 284 to its opening-round 288. No. 10 California, out of the Pac-12 and the second seed, was alone in fifth place at 2-under 574 after the Golden Bears added a 2-under 286 to their opening-round 288.

   The top five teams in the six regionals and the low individual not from an advancing team move on to the NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

   Ohio State was led by Caleb Ramirez, a senior from Blythe, Calif. who was alone in third at 7-under 137, two shots behind co-leaders Edwin Yi, a senior at Oregon from Beaumont, Calif., and Illinois’ Michael Feagles, a junior from Scottsdale, Ariz. Ramirez added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 68.

   Will Voetsch, a senior from New Vernon, N.J., was four shots behind his teammate Ramirez in a three-way tie for fourth at 3-under 139 after adding a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 68.

   Laken Hinton, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., also contributed a 3-under 69 for the Buckeyes, which, combined with his opening-round 75, left him among the group tied for 17^th at even-par 144.

   Ohio State’s Cincinnati Kids, seniors Will Grimmer and Daniel Wetterich, each landed among the group tied for 26^th at 2-over 146. They have been moving in lockstep, each adding an even-par 72 to an opening-round 74. Grimmer played four rounds in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills last summer, so the guy can play.

   Oregon’s Yi matched the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 after opening with a 69 to get a share of the top spot in the individual chase at 8-under 136 with Feagles, who fired a second consecutive 4-under 68.

   Joining Ohio State’s Voetsch in the trio tied for fourth at 139 were Illinois freshman Adrien Dumont de Chassart, the Big Ten co-champion from Belgium, and Wake Forest’s Eugenio Chacarra, a freshman from Spain. De Chassart had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 67 and matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round. Chacarra matched the low round of the day with a 67 after he had matched par in the opening round with a 72.

   In the Louisville Regional, No. 11 Auburn, the second seed, put a little distance between itself and the No. 1 team in the country, top-seeded Oklahoma State, with a 7-under 277 at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky.

   The Tigers had grabbed the opening-round lead with an 8-under 276 over the 7,217-yard, par-71 University of Louisville layout. Their solid second round left them with a 15-under 553 total.

   Oklahoma State, the reigning national champion, fell back from its opening-round 278 with a 1-under 283 that left the Cowboys in second place at 7-under 561, eight shots behind Auburn. Oklahoma State, which won the Big 12 title last month, defeated Auburn in the NCAA semifinals on its way to the NCAA title on its home course at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. a year ago.

   No. 25 Baylor, the fifth seed, carded a 4-over 288 after opening with a 280 and was alone in third place at even-par 568, seven shots behind Oklahoma State, its Big 12 rival.

   Another Big 12 entry, Iowa State, ranked 37^th and seeded seventh, moved into fourth place with a solid 2-under 282 behind individual leader Tripp Kinney, a junior from Waukee, Iowa who had the best round of the day, a 6-under 65. The Cyclones had opened with a 288 and were at 2-over 570.

   Host Louisville, ranked 21^st and seeded fourth, took full advantage of playing on its home course as the Cardinals added a 7-over 291 to their opening-round 280 for a 3-over 571 total that left them in fifth place, a shot behind Iowa State.

   Auburn was led by Jovan Rebula, a junior from South Africa and the No. 26 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and Graysen Huff, a junior from Eagle, Idaho, in the opening round. But Rebula, who defeated Huff in a playoff for the Southeastern Conference individual title, struggled Tuesday and their teammates picked them up. It’s what team golf is all about.

   Trace Crowe, a senior from Bluffton, S.C., fired a 3-under 68 and was alone in sixth place at 4-under 138. Jacob Solomon, a senior from Dublin, Calif., was even better, firing a sparkling 5-under 66, seven shots better than his opening-round 73, and was in the group tied for seventh at 3-under 139.

   Brandon Mancheno, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla. and No. 49 in the WAGR, was his usual steady self, adding a 1-under 70 to his opening-round 71 and landed in the group tied for 11^th at 1-under 141. Huff was also in the group tied for 11^th after he added a 2-over 73 to his opening-round 68.

   Rebula, the nephew of Ernie Els and winner of The Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland last summer, struggled to a 78, which, combined with his opening-round 67, left him in the group tied for 28^th at 3-over 145.

   Kinney’s sizzling 65, combined with an opening-round 68, gave him an 8-under 134 total and two-shot lead in the individual standings.

   Louisville’s Mathias Schmid, a sophomore from Germany, and Arizona’s Trevor Werbylo, a sophomore from Tucson, Ariz., were tied for second at 6-under 136. Schmid added a 1-under 70 to his opening-round 66 while Werbylo added a 2-under 69 to his opening-round 67.

   Oklahoma State’s Viktor Hovland, a junior from Norway and the No. 1 player in the WAGR, shared fourth place with Connecticut’s Jimmy Hervol, a senior from Hopkinton, Mass. competing as an individual, at 5-under 137.

   Hovland, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and low amateur in the Masters last month, added a 2-under 69 to his opening-round 68. Hervol carded a 1-under 70 after opening with a 67.

   In the Athens Regional, host Georgia, behind Spencer Ralston, a junior from Gainesville, Ga., and Davis Thompson, a sophomore from Auburn, Ala., who are tied for the individual lead, grabbed a one-shot lead over Duke at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.

   The Bulldogs, ranked 16^th and seeded third, added a 4-under 280 over their 7,253-yard, par-71 home layout to their opening-round 284 for a 4-under 564 total. ACC power Duke, ranked ninth and seeded second, had the best round of the day, an 8-under 276, to surge into second place at 3-under 565.

   Georgia’s SEC rival Vanderbilt, ranked fourth and the top seed, was five shots behind Duke in third place at 2-over 570 after adding an even-par 284 to its opening-round 286. No. 22 Liberty, seeded fourth, was 12 shots behind Vanderbilt in fourth place at 14-over 582 after adding a 4-over 288 to its opening-round 294.

  A serious shootout is shaping up for the fifth and final berth to the NCAA Championship out of Athens as four teams will enter Wednesday’s final round tied for fifth at 17-over 585.

   Sixth-seeded Tennessee, ranked 33^rd, is the highest-seeded team of the four as the Volunteers added a 295 to their opening-round 290. No. 52 Nevada, the ninth seed, added a 289 to its opening-round 296. No. 60 SMU, seeded 10^th, added a 288 to its opening-round 297. American Athletic Conference champion Memphis, ranked 80^th and seeded 11^th, slipped back from its opening-round 292 with a 9-over 293.

   Ralston and Thompson used their knowledge of their home course to each record a second consecutive 2-under 69 and share the individual lead at 4-under 138.

   Georgia got a third sub-70 round from Will Kahlstorf, a freshman from Watkinsville, Ga. who carded a 2-under 69 after opening with a 74 that left him in the group tied for 15^th at 1-over 143.

   Trent Phillips, the younger of Georgia’s Phillips brothers from Inman, S.C. and No. 43 in the WAGR, was among the group tied for 24^th at 3-over 145 after adding a 2-over 73 to his opening-round 72. Trent Phillips is a freshman. Trevor Phillips, a junior, added a 78 to his opening-round 75 and landed in the group tied for 57^th at 153.

   Two of Vanderbilt’s top players, John Augenstein, a junior from Owensboro, Ky. and No. 27 in the WAGR, and Will Gordon, a senior from Davidson, N.C. and No. 16 in the WAGR, were among a group of three players tied for third in the individual standings at 3-under 139, a shot behind Georgia’s top two.

   Augenstein added a 2-under 69 to his opening-round 70 while Gordon, who had opened with a 69, carded a 1-under 70 Tuesday.

   Joining the Vanderbilt duo at 3-under was Nevada’s Stephen Osborne, a junior from Reno, Nev. who added a 3-under 68 to his opening-round 71.

   Western Kentucky’s Billy Tom Sargent, a redshirt senior from Georgetown, Ky. competing as individual, was another shot behind the trio tied for third in sixth place at 2-under 140. Sargent fired a 2-under 69 after opening with a 71.

   Roland Massimino, one of three Kansas State players in the field competing as individuals, was tied for 49^th at 151 after adding a 4-over 75 to his opening-round 76. Massimino, a junior, was the 2014 PIAA Class AA runnerup as a senior at New Hope-Solebury.
    In the Austin Regional, another host team, No. 6 Texas, the top seed, pulled away from the field with a 10-under 274 to take a 16-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round at The University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas.

   It was all Texas and Pepperdine at the top of the individual leaderboard as three Longhorns and two of the Waves were tied for the lead at 4-under 138 over the 7,355-yard, par-71 University of Texas layout.

   Steven Chervony, the veteran senior on a young Texas team from Boca Raton, Fla., fired a 5-under 66 after opening with a 72. Freshman phenom Cole Hammer of Houston, No. 6 in the WAGR, added a 3-under 68 to his opening-round 70.

   Pierceson Coody, one of the Longhorns twin Coodys, freshmen from Plano, Texas, had opened with a 66, but backed off with a 1-over 72 while still retaining a share of the individual lead.

Texas had shared the opening-round lead with No. 18 Pepperdine, the third seed, with a 6-under 278, but the Longhorns’ sparkling 274 left them with a 16-under 552 total.

   The Waves backed off with a 6-over 290 and fell into a tie for second with No. 19 Clemson, the fourth seed which carded a second straight 284, at even-par 568.

   Texas’ Big 12 rival TCU, ranked 30^th and seeded fifth, was another four shots behind Pepperdine and Clemson in fourth place at 4-over 572 after the Horned Frogs added a 292 to their opening-round 280.

   No. 31 Arkansas, seeded sixth, doggedly held on to fifth place as the Razorbacks, the upset winners of the SEC championship, added a 291 to their opening-round 282 that left them a shot behind TCU at 5-over 573. Arkansas would like nothing more than to get to tee it up in an NCAA Championship on its home course at The Blessings.

   Parker Coody, the other half of Texas’ twin freshmen duo, carded a 1-over 72 that the Longhorns were able to throw out, but still left him in the group tied for 12^th at even-par 142.

   Spencer Soosman, a junior from Westlake Village, Calif., bounced back from an opening-round 75 with a solid 3-under 68 for a 1-over 143 total that left him among the group tied for 15^th.

  The five players at the top of the individual leaderboard included two members of Pepperdine’s West Coast Conference championship team, Joe Highsmith, a freshman from Lakewood, Wash., and Joshua McCarthy, a junior from Danville, Calif. Highsmith added a 1-under 70 to his opening-round 68 and McCarthy, who had opened with a 67, fell back with an even-par 71.

   A shot out of the five-way tie for first at 3-under 139 was Arkansas’ Julian Perico, a freshman from Peru and the hero of the Razorbacks’ stunning run to an SEC title. Perico had opened with a 4-under 67, but fell back a little with a 1-over 72.

   In the Pullman Regional, No. 20 Texas A&M, seeded fourth, emerged from a shootout with No. 5 Oklahoma, the top seed, with a three-shot lead at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash.

   The Aggies, another SEC power, got a 5-under 65 from Brandon Smith, a junior from Frisco, Texas, and a 4-under 66 from Walker Lee, a sophomore from Houston, to offset a sizzling 8-under 62 fired by Oklahoma’s Blaine Hale, a senior from Dallas.

   Smith and Walker helped Texas A&M fire a 12-under 268 to go along with an opening-round 269 for a 23-under 537 total. Big 12 power Oklahoma carded a second straight 10-under 270 and was in second place at 20-under 540.

   ACC champion Georgia Tech, ranked eighth and seeded second, was just a shot behind the Sooners at 19-under 541 after adding a 10-under 270 to its opening-round 271. It was two more shots back to No. 32 Brigham Young, the sixth seed, in fourth place at 17-under 543. The Cougars added a 9-under 271 to their opening-round 272.

   No. 41 Colorado State, the seventh seed, put itself in position to earn a ticket to the NCAA Championship as it fired an 11-under 269, the second-best team round of the day, after opening with a 279 and was alone in fifth place at 12-under 548, five shots behind Brigham Young.

   Lee was holding down Texas A&M’s top spot in the individual standings as his 66, combined with an opening-round 67, left him among four players tied for fifth at 7-under 133.

   Smith’s 65, combined with an opening-round 69, left him among the group tied for ninth at 6-under 134. Teammate Chandler Phillips, the Aggies’ senior leader from Huntsville, Texas and No. 10 in the WAGR, fell back from his opening-round 64 with an even-par 70 as he joined Smith in the group tied for ninth at 134.

   Sam Bennett, a freshman from Madisonville, Texas, fired a 3-under 67 after opening with a 69 and was among the group tied for 17^th at 4-under 136. Rounding out the Texas A&M lineup was Dan Erickson, a junior from Whittier, Calif. who was in the group tied for 60^th at 146 after adding a 75 to his opening-round 71.

   Hale, a holdover from the Sooners’ 2017 team that claimed a national championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., put together an eight-birdie, no-bogey gem in grabbing the individual lead at 10-under 130. He had opened with a 68 before erupting with his Tuesday 62.

   Two players competing as individuals, San Francisco’s Tim Widing, a junior from Sweden, and UC-Santa Barbara’s Zach Smith, a senior from Pleasanton, Calif., and Brigham Young’s Rhett Rasmussen, a junior from Draper, Utah, shared second place, two shots behind Hale at 8-under 132.

   Rasmussen nearly matched Hale’s spectacular round as he fired a 7-under 63 after opening with a 69. Widing added a 5-under 65 to his opening-round 67 and Smith, who had opened with a 65, carded a 67 Tuesday.

   Joining Texas A&M’s Lee in the quartet tied for fifth at 7-under 133 were South Carolina’s Scott Stevens, a senior from Chattanooga, Tenn., Georgia Tech’s Andy Ogletree, a junior from Little Rock, Miss., and Coby Welch, a junior from Highlands Ranch, Calif.

   Stevens and Ogletree each added a 4-under 66 to an opening-round 67 while Welch opened with a 66 before adding a 3-under 67 in the second round.

   In the Stanford Regional, another host team was dominating as the No. 12 Cardinal, seeded second, fired a 9-under 271 on their home Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. to take a 10-shot lead over Pac-12 rival Arizona State, the No. 2 team in the country and the top seed, and No. 26 North Carolina, the fifth seed.

   Stanford, led by individual leader Isaiah Salinda, a senior from South San Francisco, Calif. and No. 29 in the WAGR, had opened with a 274 and its 271 Tuesday left it with a 15-under 545 total.

   Salinda added a 3-under 67 to his opening-round 66 for a 7-under 133 total. Two of the three players tied for second, two shots behind Salinda at 5-under 135, were Salinda’s Stanford teammates, Brandon Wu, a senior from Deerfield, Mass., and David Snyder, a junior from McAllen, Texas. Wu added a 3-under 67 to his opening-round 68 while Snyder, who had opened with a 67, carded a solid 2-under 68 Tuesday.

   Arizona State surged into a share of second place on the strength of an 8-under 272 that left the Sun Devils at 5-under 555, 10 shots behind Stanford. North Carolina, out of the ACC, added a 5-under 275 to its opening-round 280 to get it to 5-under.

   No. 58 Georgia Southern, the 10^th seed, was just a shot behind Arizona State and North Carolina in fourth place at 4-under 556 after carding a second straight 2-under 278. No. 51 Mississippi, seeded ninth, added a solid 5-under 275 to its opening-round 282 and was a shot behind Georgia Southern in fifth place at 3-under 557.

   Stanford got a fourth sub-70 round from Daulet Tuleuvbayev, a freshman from Kazakhstan who posted a 1-under 69 after opening with a 73 to join the group tied for 29^th at 2-over 142. Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Henry Shimp, a junior from Charlotte, N.C. who added a 75 to his opening-round 73 to land among the group tied for 62^nd at 148.

   Joining Stanford’s Wu and Snyder in the trio tied for second at 5-under was Ole Miss’ Sarut Vongchaisit, a freshman from Thailand who added a 69 to his opening-round 66.

   Arizona State’s Chun An Yu, a junior from Taiwan, headed a group of four players tied for fifth at 4-under 136 as he added a 5-under 65 to his opening-round 71. Georgia Southern’s Steven Fisk, a senior from Stockbridge, Ga., matched Yu, firing a 5-under 65 Tuesday after opening with a 71.

   LSU’s Philip Barbaree, a junior from Shreveport, La., carded a second straight 2-under 68 to get to 4-under. Rounding out the foursome at 136 was Utah’s Kyler Dunkle, a senior from Lankspur, Colo. competing as an individual who added a 3-under 67 to his opening-round 69.