Baylor MGOLF Dominates Day One at the Border Olympics

Mon Feb 13 21:05:56 CST 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 13, 2023

Baylor MGOLF Dominates Day One at the Border Olympics
Play was suspended for darkness, with four teams needing to finish round two
For more information contact: Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

LAREDO, Texas – Four Baylor men's golfers finished at par or better on day one of the Border Olympics on Monday at Laredo Country Club to help BU to a 16-shot lead.

Johnny Keefer set the pace with a 5-under 139 to the lead by two shots over his teammates Tyler Isenhart and Drew Wrightson with 18 holes to play.

Seven of Baylor’s eight counting scores finished at par or better, giving them a 16-shot cushion over second-place Coastal Carolina, who had four players still on the course when play was suspended.

THE RUNDOWN
Round One
Keefer made an early bogey at No. 2, but bounced back with a birdie at No. 3 before adding a second at No. 6. Another bogey at No. 7 preceded two more birdies to close out the front nine with a 2-under 34. The senior made a third bogey of the day at No. 10 before playing his next six holes at 1-under par, capped by a birdie at No. 16. He finished off his opening-round 70 with a bogey at 17 and a birdie at 18 to get into a tie for 3rd.

Trey Bosco opened his round at 2-over through two holes with a double bogey at No. 3. A birdie followed at No. 4, and then he made two more at Nos. 8 and 9 to finish his front nine in red figures. Following a bogey at No. 12, the junior reeled off three-straight birdies at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 to climb to 3-under for the round. A bogey at No. 17 put him in third place after round one.

Zach Heffernan fired his second-straight round under par with an opening-round 71 on Monday. The sophomore opened his round at No. 2 by making the first of three-straight bogeys. His first birdie came at No. 8 but was immediately followed by a bogey at No. 9, putting him at four-over on his opening nine. The second nine began with a birdie at No. 11 and then three more at Nos. 13, 17 and 18 to get into red figures for the round.

Wrightson made his debut in the lineup with an opening-round 72. The sophomore birdied the opening hole but played his next four holes at four-over par with a double bogey at No. 3 and bogeys at Nos. 4 and 5, but they would be his last of the round. After three-straight pars, Wrightson capped the front nine with a birdie at No. 9 for a 2-over 38. His second nine began with six-straight pars and birdies at two of his final three holes of the round, Nos. 16 and 18 to finish tied for 17th.

Tyler Isenhart was tied for 23rd after an opening-round 73 on Monday. Starting at No. 2, Isenhart bogeyed his second hole of the day at No. 3 but carded five-straight pars and his first birdie at No. 9. He made a bogey at No. 12 and a birdie at No. 13 to get back to even par but dropped back over par with a bogey at No. 18.

Round Two
Isenhart opened his second round with a bogey at No. 2, but turned things around quickly with four-straight pars, followed by three-straight birdies at Nos. 7, 8 and 9. His birdie streak was interrupted briefly by a bogey at No. 5, but he closed with birdies at Nos. 13 and 18 to climb into a tie for second.

Keefer started with a birdie at No. 1 before making a double-bogey at No. 4 to drop back over par. He played the final five holes of the front nine at 2-under par, highlighted by birdies at Nos. 7 and 8. The junior's final bogey of the day came at No. 12, before he closed strong with birdies at Nos. 15, 16 and 18 to take possession of the overnight lead.

Wrightson joined Keefer with a 3-under 69 in the second round, his second round in the 60s this season. He started strong with a birdie at No. 1 but gave it back with a bogey at No. 5. Birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 polished off a 2-under 34 opening nine. Wrightson's final bogey of the day came at No. 10, but he thrust himself into contention with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 and finished tied for second with 18 holes to play in the final round.

Bosco shot a 2-over 74 in the second round but maintained his place in the top 10, as he is tied for 7th entering Tuesday’s final round. He made a double bogey at No. 3 for the second-straight round and made a bogey at No. 5 before righting the ship with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9. Sitting at 1-over par, Bosco made two more bogeys at Nos 12 and 14 before finishing with a birdie at No. 17 to get back to 2-over for the round and even for the championship.

Heffernan also recorded a 2-over 74 in round two. The sophomore from Boerne played his first six holes at 5-over par with three bogeys and a double bogey at No. 7. From there, he played bogey-free with birdies at Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to finish tied for 14th when darkness fell.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Baylor was the only team in the field to have all five players shoot below the stroke average in both rounds.
  *   All five Baylor players shot at least one round at par or better in the first two rounds.
  *   BU led the field in Par-3 (3.13), par-4 (3.99) and par-5 (4.65) scoring on Monday.
  *   The Bears 46 birdies are 12 more than ULM, who had the second most (34).
  *   Johnny Keefer led the field in par-4 scoring (3.75).
  *   Keefer’s 12 birdies tied for the most in the field

STAT OF THE DAY
Head Coach Mike McGraw — Monday marks Baylor’s first 36-hole lead in a 54-hole stroke-play event since the second round of the Fighting Illini Invitational on September 21, 2019.

WHAT'S NEXT
The teams with holes remaining will finish tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., followed immediately by the final round, which will be a shotgun start. You can follow along live at Golfstat.com.<https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=26747>

For more information on Baylor Men’s Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

—BaylorBears.com—

Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF/)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-227-2280
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