You can’t win the NCAA team championship in the stroke-play
qualifying rounds, but a bad round can prevent you from ever getting a chance
to win a title.
Duke, No. 28 in the latest Golfstat rankings, picked a perfect time to break all kinds of
records – team and course -- with a spectacular 12-under-par 276 Sunday over
the 7,460-yard, par-72 Karsten Creek Golf Club layout in Stillwater, Okla. to
take a three-shot lead into the final round of qualifying for match play.
The Blue Devils didn’t win anything with their best round
ever in an NCAA Championship, by eight shots, and the best team round ever at
Karsten Creek, bettering the 279 Alabama shot in Round 2 Saturday. But they put
themselves in very, very good position to be among the eight teams that advance
to match play by the end of play Monday. Is Duke a mortal lock to make match
play? Come on, we’re talking about golf here.
In match play, rankings, even the seedings that result from
the qualifying rounds, will be completely meaningless.
The sparkling round, which featured four sub-par efforts by
the Blue Devils, put Duke on top of the team standings after three rounds at
10-under 854, easily a school record for a 54-hole total in the NCAA Championship
for the Dookies.
The Blue Devils are being chased by most of the best teams
in Division I men’s golf, led by No. 1 Oklahoma State, playing on its home
course. The Cowboys have been dogged in their pursuit of this championship,
knowing full well that they would be playing on their home course.
They shared second place with Texas behind reigning national
champion Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship at venerable Southern Hills
Country Club. They captured the team title at a tough Columbus Regional on the
tough Scarlet Course at The Ohio State University Golf Club.
The Cowboys carded their third straight sub-par team round,
a 3-under 285 that left them in second place at 7-under 857, three shots behind
Duke. They know the heavy lifting will come in match play, but they are playing
solid golf and they have their fans behind them.
No. 13 Texas Tech, which surged into the lead after two
rounds, carded a 2-over 290 and is third at 3-under 861. Duke, Oklahoma State
and Texas Tech are the only teams under par through three rounds.
No. 4 Vanderbilt, one of the best programs in college golf,
is fourth at 2-over 866, five shots behind Texas Tech, after the Commodores
carded a solid 1-under 287.
Lurking in fifth is the defending champion, Oklahoma, ranked
third, at 4-over 868, two shots behind Vanderbilt after a 2-over 290. Like
cross-state rival Oklahoma State, the Sooners have been marching purposefully
toward a second straight national championship, winning the Big 12 title at
Southern Hills and capturing the team
crown in the Norman Regional on their home course.
Southeastern Conference champion Auburn, ranked ninth, is in
sixth at 6-over 870, two shots behind Oklahoma after the Tigers also posted a
2-over 290.
No. 2 Texas A&M, coming off a solid team win on its home
course in the Bryan Regional, is another shot behind Auburn in seventh at
7-over 871 after a 1-over 289.
No. 29 Kent State holds down the final spot for match play
heading into Monday’s final round at 8-over 872 after posting a 5-over 293.
But the Flashes have a couple of strong teams breathing down
their necks with No. 6 Alabama in ninth at 10-over 874 after struggling to a
301 and No. 15 Texas, the runaway winner of the Raleigh Regional which is 10th
at 11-over 875 after posting a 7-over 295.
Medalist honors for the day for Duke belonged to Evan Katz,
a freshman from Washington, D.C. who carded a 4-under 68 after rounds of 76 and
74 to move into the group tied for 34th at 2-over 218.
Chandler Eaton, a sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga., has led
the way for Duke as he carded a 3-under 69 and is among four players tied for
seventh at 4-under 212. Alex Smalley, a junior from Wake Forest, N.C., is in
the group tied for 11th at 3-under 213 after carding a 2-under 70,
Duke’s final counter.
That’s because Duke also got another sub-70 round, a 3-under
69, from Adrien Pendaries, a freshman from France who is in the group tied for
30th at 1-over 217.
Jake Sherman, a senior from Needham, Mass., had his even-par
72 thrown out. He is in the group tied for 68th at 223.
Clemson has some work to do if it plans to join the party
for match play, the Tigers are in 12th place at 14-over 878, but
they have two players among the top seven in the individual standings,
including the leader, Bryson Nimmer, a junior from Bluffton, S.C.
Nimmer had stamped himself as a contender for the individual
title with the best round of the tournament, an 8-under 64, in the opening
round before backing off with a 3-over 75 in Round 2. But Nimmer fired a
4-under 68 Sunday for a 9-under 207 total and will take a two-shot lead into
Monday’s final round in what promises to be quite a battle for the individual
title.
Teammate Doc Redman, a sophomore from Raleigh, N.C. and the
reigning U.S. Amateur champion, is in the group tied for seventh that includes
Duke’s Eaton at 4-under 212. Redman, the No. 22 player in the World Amateur
Golf Ranking (WAGR), posted a 1-over 73 Sunday.
Auburn’s precocious freshman, Brandon Mancheno of
Jacksonville, Fla. carded a 1-under 71 and is alone in second place at 7-under
209, two shots behind Nimmer.
Texas’ Doug Ghim, a senior from Arlington Heights, Ill. and
No. 1 in the WAGR, heads a group of three players tied for third at 6-under
210. Ghim, who fell to Redman in a 37-hole classic of a U.S. Amateur final at
Riviera Country Club last summer, posted a solid 2-under 70 and is very much in
contention for a chance to add an NCAA title to a spring that already includes
low-amateur honors at The Masters.
Joining Ghim at 210 are Texas Tech’s Ivan Ramirez, a junior
from Colombia, and Augusta’s Broc Everett, a senior from West Des Moines, Iowa.
Ramirez carded a 1-under 71 while Everett signed for a third straight 2-under
70.
Ghim’s senior running mate, Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, the
low amateur in last summer’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills, is alone in sixth place
at 5-under 211 after a 2-under 70. Scheffler, Ghim and Redman were members of
the U.S. team that reclaimed the Walker Cup from Great Britain & Ireland by
a resounding 19-7 margin at Los Angles Country Club last summer.
Joining Eaton and Redman in the talented foursome tied for
seventh at 4-under 212 were Oklahoma State’s Viktor Hovland, a sophomore from
Norway who is No. 7 in the WAGR, and Vanderbilt’s John Augenstein, a sophomore
from Owensboro, Ky. Hovland fired a sparkling 3-under 69 while Augenstein had a
1-over 73.
The Golf Channel joins the party for what promises to be
quite a Memorial Day shootout. There is going to be a lot going on, on both the
team and individual fronts.
No comments:
Post a Comment