Baylor MGOLF in Fourth Place After Two Rounds at Big 12 Championship

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS- April 22, 2024

Baylor MGOLF in Fourth Place After Two Rounds at Big 12 Championship
BU’s Keefer shoots a bogey-free 68 in the opening round to spearhead the Bears’ effort
For more information, contact Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

TRINITY, Texas – Baylor men’s golf hit the halfway point of the Big 12 Championship in fourth place after a 5-over 581 on Monday at Whispering Pines Golf Club.

On the strength of a bogey-free 68 in the first round, Johnny Keefer led the way for BU on day one, finishing tied for fifth through 36 holes with a 1-under 143. Davis Ovard also had a solid showing in his Big12 championship debut, tying for 12th with a 1-over 145. Cincinnati’s Ty Gingerich and BYU’s Peter Kim share the individual lead with a pair of 5-under 139s.

BU is six shots behind Brigham Young, which holds the 36-hole lead at 1-under 575. Just 13 shots separate spots No. 1-10 entering Tuesday’s third round.

THE RUNDOWN
Round One
Opening on No. 10, Keefer made an early birdie at No. 12 and finished his first nine with six-straight pars to make the turn at 1-under. The senior got off to a scorching start on his second nine with three-straight birdies at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 to reach 4-under, where he would stay for the rest of the round.

Luke Dossey fired an even-par 72 in the first round with a card that contained just six pars. He picked up an early birdie at No. 12, starting a string of three birdies in a five-hole stretch, flanked by bogeys at Nos. 13 and 16 to card a 1-under 35 on the first nine. He began his inward half with a birdie at No. 1, but it was followed by two more bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4. The senior played his final five holes at even par with birdies at Nos. 5 and 8 around bogeys at Nos. 7 and 9.

Ovard shot a 1-over 73 on Monday morning. Playing in his first Big 12 Championship, Ovard got off to a good start with a bogey-free 35 on his outward nine, highlighted by a birdie at No. 17. The freshman added a second birdie at No. 2 to reach 2-under but closed with three-straight bogeys at Nos. 7-9.

Zach Heffernan shot a 3-over 75 in the first round. He got off to a great start by holing his second shot at No. 11 to go to 2-under through two holes. Bogeys at Nos. 14 and 18 around a birdie at No. 17 saw him make the turn at 1-under. A triple-bogey eight at No. 2 dropped him back to 2-over par on his round. He fought back with a birdie at No. 3 but finished with bogeys at Nos. 6 and 8.

Tyler Isenhart also shot a 3-over 75 in the first round. Starting with two birdies in his first three holes at Nos. 10 and 12, Isenhart closed his first nine with three bogeys at Nos. 13, 17 and 18. A birdie at No. 1 got him back to even before three-straight bogeys knocked him back to 3-over. A birdie at No. 5 was offset by a bogey at No. 8 for an even-par finish to his morning round.

Round Two
Keefer kept things rolling early in the second round with a birdie at No. 2 but stumbled with a double bogey at No. 4, his first dropped shot in 22 holes of the championship. He picked up a shot with a birdie at No. 5 but gave two more back with a pair of bogeys to close out the front nine at Nos. 7 and 9. Following five pars to open the back nine, Keefer dropped a long birdie putt at No. 15 to get back to 1-over, but back-to-back birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 saw him finish his round at 3-over.

Ovard continued his strong showing with an even-par 72 in the second round to finish tied for 12th. His steady start featured a birdie at No. 2 around 12 pars to get to 1-under through 13 holes. Bogeys on two of his next three holes at Nos. 14 and 16 put him back over par, but he recovered with a birdie at No. 17 to finish the round at even par.

Isenhart strung together an even-par 72, improving by three shots on his opening round. He opened with back-to-back birdies to reach 2-under before giving back a shot at No. 7 to make the turn at 1-under. Dropping back to even with a bogey at No. 10, Isenhart rebounded with a birdie at No. 11 but closed the round with a bogey at No. 18.

Dossey finished day one in a tie for 34th after a 4-over 76 in the second round. The senior played his first five holes at 3-over par after a bogey at No. 7 and a bogey at No. 5. He clawed back a shot at No. 7 to make the turn at 2-over. He carded a 2-over second nine with bogeys at Nos. 13, 16 and 18 around a birdie at No. 17.

Zach Heffernan closed Monday in a tie for 40th on the heels of a 2-over 74 in the second round. After dropping a shot with a bogey at No. 1, Heffernan battled back into red figures with birdies at Nos. 2 and 5. A second bogey came at the par-4 seventh to make the turn with an even-par 36. He carded two more bogeys on the back nine at Nos. 11 and 18 to close out his 74.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Fourth place is BU’s highest position through 36 holes at the Big 12 Championship since 2013 when the Bears were also in fourth place after two rounds.
  *   The Bears led the field in par-3 scoring average on Monday (3.10)
  *   Johnny Keefer shot his career-low Big 12 round in the first round with a 4-under 68.
  *   Davis Ovard’s 27 pars tied for the second-most on Monday.
  *   Ovard set a career-best score in the Big 12 Championship with his second-round 72.
  *   Luke Dossey tied his career-best Big 12 round with his opening-round 72, but it was his career-first Big 12 round at par or better.



STAT OF THE DAY
68 — Johnny Keefer's career-best Big 12 round tied for the 10th-best Big 12 Championship round in program history. It was also just one shot off the lowest first-round Big 12 score in program history, set by current assistant Jeremy Alcorn in 2005 and Aaron Pellegrom in 1999.

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will finish round two Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. CT, with the final round beginning immediately after. Live scoring and stats can be found at Golfstat.com.<https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=28933> For more information on Baylor Men’s Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on X, 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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