AUSTIN, Texas – Junior Tyson Alexander led Florida with a 3-under-par 68 Friday as the Gators remained in the hunt for the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship Southwest Regional title heading into Saturday’s final round at the University of Texas Golf Club.
The Gators totaled 3-over-par 287 on the second day, leaving themselves with a two-day total of 12-over-par 580, which is just four strokes off the pace being set by tournament host Texas and two strokes behind first-round leader Texas Tech.
The top five teams after today’s final round advance along with one individual not on those teams to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships final field May 27-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Alexander bogeyed the third hole but made four birdies over his final 10 holes and has a 1-over-par 143 total that has him tied for fifth place six shots behind individual leader Lance Lopez, who followed his opening-round 68 with a 69 and was at 5-under 137, four shots clear of the field.
“We actually got off to a pretty good start today,” Florida head coach Buddy Alexander said. “All five guys in the lineup were in the mix today, which has been rare for us this season.”
Seniors Billy Horschel and Will Strickler matched each other for the second straight day, shooting 3-over par 74s and were tied for 11th place at 4-over-par 146 heading into today’s final round, which starts for the Gators at 10:40 a.m. ET depending on the weather.
Junior Tim McKenney matched par 71 and was a shot behind Horschel and Strickler, tied for 18th. Another senior, Toby Ragland, shot 74 for the second straight day and was at 148, tied for 24th.
“We are in position to try and win the tournament tomorrow,” coach Alexander said. “If we put together a solid round, we have a very good shot.”
Texas, which trailed Texas Tech by nine strokes going into the round, made up ground with a 1-over-par 285 effort. Bobby Hudson and Donald Constable had rounds of 71 to go along with Lopez’s 69.
The Red Raiders, who dazzled in the first round with four golfers shooting par or better for a 2-under 282, were 14 strokes worse Friday, their 296 total leaving them at 578, just two ahead of the Gators. Nils Floren and Chris Ward had 73s, while Brian Scherer, Garrett Merrell and Santiago Rivas all had 75s.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL
AUSTIN, Texas – Results after Friday’s second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship Southwest Regional at the par-71, 7,412-yard University of Texas Golf Club:
1. TEXAS 576 (291-285) (+8) (Lance Lopez 68-69—137, Bobby Hudson 72-71—143, Dylan Frittelli 75-74—149, Donald Constable 76-71—147, Charlie Holland 81-74—155)
2. TEXAS TECH 578 (282-296) (+10) (Brian Scherer 70-75—145, Nils Floren 70-73—143, Chris Ward 71-73—144, Garrett Merrell 71-75—146, Santiago Rivas 79-75—154)
3. FLORIDA 580 (293-287) (+12) (Tyson Alexander 75-68—143 T5, Will Strickler 72-74—146 T11, Billy Horschell 72-74—146 T11, Tim McKenney 76-71—147 T18, Toby Ragland 74-74—148 T24)
4. UNLV 585 (296-289) (+17) (Eddie Olson 72-69—141, Colby Smith 73-75—148, Ji Moon 74-72—146, Derek Ernst 77-73—150, Brett Kanda 79-75—154)
5. STANFORD 593 (294-299) (+25) (Steve Ziegler 70-77—147, Daniel Lim 73-79—152, Sihwan Kim 75-74—149, Dodge Kemmer 76-70—146, David Chung 82-78—160)
6. LAMAR 594 (296-298) (+26) (Hugues Joannes 68-74—142, Leoux Ferriera 75-74—149, Kevin Hesbois 76-76—152, Justin Harding 77-74—151, Xavier Feyaerts 80-79—159)
T7. CALIFORNIA 596 (306-290) (+28) (Eric Mina 74-71—145, John Murphy 76-71—147, George Gandranata 77-73—150, Stephen Hale 79-78—157, Michael Jensen 82-75—157)
T7. MICHIGAN 596 (301-295) (+28) (Lion Kim 73-76—149, Matt Thompson 74-72—146, Alexander Sitompul 77-76—153, Nick Pumford 77-81—158, Bill Rankin 80-71—151)
9. TEXAS-ARLINGTON 598 (308-290) (+30) (Zack Fischer 71-77—148, Kevin Carrigan 77-71—148, Bryce Easton 79-74—153, Bobby Massa 81-74—155, Michael Van de Venter WD-71)
10. NEW MEXICO STATE 601 (309-292) (+33) (Travis Reid 72-70—142, Ryan Word 76-75—151, Gaston De La Torre 79-72—151, Tim Madigan 82-75—157, Kevin Lozares 88-78—166)
11. MISSISSIPPI STATE 602 (305-297) (+34) (Josh Bevell 74-72—146, Noah Goldman 75-83—158, Carlos Sainz 77-77—154, Matt Fast 79-72—151, Brian Mason 80-76—156)
12. VIRGINIA TECH 608 (302-306) (+40) (Drew Weaver 72-75—147, Will Oldham 75-80—155, Garland Green 77-74—151, Marshall Bailey 78-78—156, Matt Boyd 81-79—160)
13. JACKSON STATE 650 (335-315) (+82) (Clay Myers 83-74—157, Michael Chappell 83-86—169, Brett Benson 83-75—158, Maurice Jeffries 86-87—173, Curtis Stanton 87-80—167)
Others: Ken Looper (New Orleans) 76-71—147; Jeff Gerlich (Texas State) 74-75—149; Glenn Northcutt (Auburn) 75-74—149; Fergal Rafferty (Sam Houston State) 77-75—152; Cole Moreland (Auburn) 78-75—153; Adam Cornelson (New Orleans) 80-75—155; Cedric Scotto (Southeastern Louisiana) 77-80—157; Corey Roberson (Texas State) 83-75—158; Matt Carvell (Southeastern Louisiana) 81-78—159; Gonzalo Berlin (Jacksonville State) 77-84—161.
INDIVIDUAL TOP 15
1. Lance Lopez (Texas) 68-69—137 (-5)
2. Eddie Olson (UNLV) 72-69—141 (-1)
T3. Hugues Joannes (Lamar) 68-74—142 (E)
T3. Travis Reid (New Mexico State) 72-70—142 (E)
T5. Tyson Alexander (Florida) 75-68—143 (+1)
T5. Nils Floren (Texas Tech) 70-73—143 (+1)
T5. Bobby Hudson (Texas) 72-71—143 (+1)
8. Chris Ward (Texas Tech) 71-73—144 (+2)
T9. Eric Mina (California) 74-71—145 (+3)
T9. Brian Scherer (Texas Tech) 70-75—145 (+3)
T11. Josh Bevell (Mississippi State) 74-72—146 (+4)
T11. Billy Horschel (Florida) 72-74—146 (+4)
T11. Dodge Kemmer (Stanford) 76-70—146 (+4)
T11. Garrett Merrell (Texas Tech) 71-75—146 (+4)
T11. Ji Moon (UNLV) 74-72—146 (+4)
T11. Will Strickler (Florida) 72-74—146 (+4)
T11. Matt Thompson (Michigan) 74-72—146 (+4)