Texas Tech golf coach Greg Sands recaps Urbana Regional, previews NCAA
Texas Tech men’s golf team finished 5th at the Urbana Regional, Calum Scott tied for 5th and Red Raiders advance to NCAA final for 5th straight year.
The Texas Tech men’s golf team, paced by Charlie DeLong’s 1-under-par 71, was tied for 12th place out of 30 teams after the first round of the NCAA championships on Friday, May 23, in Carlsbad, California.
The Red Raiders are 4-over as a team, tied with Troy. They’re 12 strokes behind Oklahoma, the leader, and inside the cut line of the top 15 teams who advance to the fourth round after 54 holes at the Omni La Costa North Course.
Tech got an even-par 72 from freshman Connor Graham, a 1-over 73 from sophomore Tim Wiedemeyer and a 4-over 76 from sophomore Ben Gregg for its final counting score toward the team total. The Red Raiders’ discarded score came from their top player, senior Calum Scott, who shot 77. Scott was 1-under through 13 holes before he bogeyed the par-4 14th and made 9 on the par-4 15th.
This is the second year of a five-year run for the NCAA championships at the Omni La Costa. Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, was the previous host.
Oklahoma, at 8-under, leads by five strokes over Florida State, Florida and Texas. Reigning champion and No. 1 seed Auburn is next at 2-under, along with Arizona State and Illinois. Colorado, California and BYU round out the top 10 at 1-over, and Georgia is the other team ahead of Texas Tech at 3-over.
The Red Raiders are grouped with players from Georgia Tech and South Florida for the first two rounds. On Saturday, May 24, Tech players will go in the afternoon wave, beginning on hole No. 10. Their tee times range from 2:12 p.m. CDT to 2:56 p.m. CDT.
After the third round, the field is cut to the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams. The fourth round is Monday, May 26, with the individual champion crowned after 72 holes and the field of teams cut to eight for bracketed match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals are Tuesday, May 27, and the championship match is the next day.
Texas A&M’s Phichaksn Maichon shot a bogey-free 66 on Day 1 for the individual lead. He’s a stroke ahead of Georgia’s Carter Loflin and Texas’ Tommy Morrison.
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