Baylor MGOLF Climbs to Third Place on Difficult Day in Morgan Hill

Tue May 16 18:50:32 CDT 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 16, 2023

Baylor MGOLF Climbs to Third Place on Difficult Day in Morgan Hill
BU’s Johnny Keefer uses a 3-under 69 to sit in third place as an individual
For more information, contact: Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

MORGAN HILL, Calif. – On a day where the stroke average rose by over 3.5 shots, Baylor men’s golf used the best round of the day, a 6-over 294, to finish in third place Tuesday at the Morgan Hill Regional.

The Bears enter Wednesday's final round just five shots off the lead and 10 shots ahead of sixth-place Cal. The top five teams at the conclusion of the final round will advance to the NCAA Championship, May 26-31, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Baylor’s Johnny Keefer led the Bears with a 3-under 69 on Tuesday to climb into third place, just a shot off the lead, held by NC State’s Maximilian Steinlechner and Florida State’s Luke Clanton.

THE RUNDOWN
Keefer made an early bogey at No. 11, one of the more difficult holes, which yielded 23 double-bogeys or worse on Tuesday. The senior closed his opening nine with birdies at Nos. 14 and 18 to get into red figures at the turn. A second-straight birdie opened the inward nine for Keefer, before he punctuated his round with birdies at Nos. 7 and 9 around a bogey at No. 8.

Zach Heffernan beat the stroke average by over 3.5 shots with a second-round 73 to pull into a tie for 18th. The sophomore started with five-straight pars before suffering his first bogey of the day at No. 15 to make the turn with a 1-over 73. The bogey at 15 would be his final one of the day as he strung together 12-straight pars, including a bogey-free second nine to shoot a second-straight 73.

Luke Dossey recorded a 3-over 75 for the second-straight round to move up 10 spots into a tie for 40th. The senior fell victim to the 11th hole with a double-bogey seven, but he bounced back with birdies on two of the next three holes at Nos. 12 and 14. Dossey dropped a pair of shots at Nos. 17 and 18 for a 2-over 38 outward nine. He played a clean inward nine, with his only blemish coming as a bogey at No. 7 to beat the stroke average by over 1.5 shots.

Tyler Isenhart shot a 5-over 77 to settle into a tie for 18th on Tuesday. The senior opened with a birdie at No. 10, and after a bogey at No. 13, he closed his opening nine with birdies at Nos. 16 and 18 for a 2-under 34. After making the turn as the solo leader, Isenhart played his next seven holes at seven-over par with bogeys at Nos. 1, 2 and 6, and double bogeys at Nos. 4 and 7. He finished the round with a pair of pars at Nos. 8 and 9.

Drew Wrightson shot a 12-over 84 to finish Tuesday tied for 62nd. Following a birdie at No. 11, the sophomore made a triple bogey at No. 13 to drop to 2-over on the round. He played the final five holes of his opening nine at even par with a birdie at No. 14 and a bogey at No. 15 for a 2-over 38 first nine. Wrightson played his second nine at 10-over with bogeys at Nos. 2 and 6, double bogeys at Nos. 1 and 4, and a quadruple bogey at No. 7.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Baylor’s 6-over 294 was the best score in the field on Tuesday.
  *   The Bears have made the third-most pars through two days (121).
  *   Three of Johnny Keefer’s last five NCAA regional rounds have been in the 60s.
  *   Keefer has played three-straight, and four of his last five, rounds at par or better in NCAA Regionals.
  *   At 4.63, Keefer is tied for the third-best par-5 scoring average in the field.
  *   Keefer is tied for the second-most birdies in the field through two rounds (8).
  *   Zach Heffernan is tied for the third-best par-3 scoring average (2.88), and is one of just five players playing the par-3s under par.
  *   Heffernan also leads the field with 30 pars through the first two rounds.

STAT OF THE DAY
With his score of 69, Johnny Keefer was the only player to break 70 in Tuesday’s second round.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will start the final round on No. 1 with Florida State and Mississippi State, beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT. Drew Wrightson will lead things off for BU, followed by Luke Dossey at 9:41 a.m. Zach Heffernan will take the tee box at 9:52 a.m., just in front of Tyler Isenhart, who will play at 10:03 a.m. Johnny Keefer will return to the anchor position and will go at 10:14 a.m.

Live scoring and stats are available at Golfstat.com.<https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=27709> 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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