Baylor MGOLF Wraps Day One in Tie for Ninth at the All-American Intercollegiate

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS- March 18, 2024

Baylor MGOLF Wraps Day One in Tie for Ninth at the All-American Intercollegiate
BU rebounds with a 3-over 291 in the second round to move up eight spots
For more information contact: Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

HUMBLE, Texas– Baylor men’s golf finished Monday in a tie for ninth place with a 17-over 593 after 36 holes at the All-American Intercollegiate at The Golf Club of Houston.

On a day when the stroke average hovered north of 75, Davis Ovard and Johnny Keefer led the way for BU. Ovard shot a 2-over 146, while Keefer carded a 3-over 147 to finish tied for 17th and 22nd, respectively. After day one, Ovard sits six shots back of UNLV's Yuki Moriyama, the individual leader with a 4-under 140.

After a 14-over 302 in the first round, the Bears improved by 11 shots in the second round, moving up eight spots, the biggest jump of the second round. Just five shots separate 10th-place Baylor from fourth-place Rice, while Sam Houston leads at 4-over 580.

Over at the All-American Individual, junior Zach Heffernan claimed a share of the 36-hole lead with an even-par 144. Luke Morgan joined him in the top-10, sitting tied for eighth on the heels of a 4-over 148. Luke and Sam Dossey are just a few shots back, at 6-over and 7-over, respectively, entering Tuesday's final round.

THE RUNDOWN
Round One
After an even-par front nine to start, Keefer made three birdies in his first five holes on the back nine. The senior ran into trouble on his final four holes though, playing them at six-over par thanks to bogeys at Nos. 15 and 17 and a quadruple bogey at No. 18 to finish the round with a 3-over 75.

Tyler Isenhart also carded a 3-over 75 in the opening round. Starting at No. 2, the senior played an even-par opening nine, but stumbled a bit down the stretch with bogeys on three of his final six holes of the day at Nos. 14, 16 and 17.

Ovard was a shot off Isenhart’s pace with a 4-over 76 in Monday morning's opening round. He carded a pair of early birdies at Nos. 3 and 4, offset by a double bogey at No. 5. He was still able to make the turn in red figures , however, following a birdie at No. 8. Bogeys on five of his final six holes cost him five shots and dropped him back to his 4-over par total.

A birdie at No. 6 brought Trey Bosco back to even par through four holes, but bogeys on three of his next four holes put him back over par at the turn. Two more bogeys dotted Bosco's card at Nos. 14 and 17, but he closed with a birdie on his final hole of the day at No. 2.

Jonas Appel started at No. 2 and played his opening nine at 4-over after a double bogey at No. 5 and two more bogeys at Nos. 6 and 9. The sophomore picked up a stroke with a birdie at No. 13 but closed the round with three bogeys in his final five holes to record a 6-over 78.

Round Two
Ovard gave the Bears their only round in red figures on Monday with a 2-under 70 in the second round to finish the day tied for 17th. After an early birdie, the freshman stumbled with a triple-bogey eight, but recovered to make the turn at just 2-over. He made another quick bogey at No. 10, but it would be his last, as he played the final seven holes at five-under with an eagle at 12, followed by birdies at Nos. 13, 14 and 16.

Keefer rebounded from his 3-over 75 in the first round with an even-par 72 in the second round. He played the front nine in 1-under thanks to birdies at Nos. 4, 5 and 7, around bogeys at Nos. 1 and 6. The San Antonio, Texas, native got to 2-under with a birdie at No. 10 before closing with bogeys at Nos. 12 and 16 to drop back to even on the round and 4-over for the day.

Isenhart shot a 2-over 74 in the second round to climb into a tie for 34th. Starting at No. 2, he quickly jumped into red figures with a birdie at No. 3 and another at No. 8. His lone blemish on the front side came with a bogey at No. 9 before a birdie at No. 12 boosted him into the top 10. Isenhart struggled on the way in though, playing the final five holes at 4-over.

Bosco picked up a shot on his opening round with a 3-over 75 in the afternoon session. After battling back to even with a birdie at No. 13 to recover a dropped shot at No. 6, Bosco carded a double bogey to fall back over par. He added one more bogey at No. 16 to finish the day in a tie for 47th.

Appel improved by two shots from his opening round with a second-round 76 to close the day in a tie for 74th. Bogeys on three of his first five holes, surrounded a birdie at No. 2, but the sophomore was able to scrape back another shot with a birdie at No. 10 to make the turn at just 1-over. A bogey at No. 11 opened Appel's second nine before he added two more at Nos. 14 and 1 to close out the day.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   On Monday, six of Baylor's eight counting scores beat the field scoring average in the first two rounds (75.22 in round one, 75.41 in round two).
  *   Baylor’s second-round 291 tied for the second-best team score in the afternoon.
  *   BU finished the day with the second-best par-4 scoring average on Monday (4.17).
  *   Keefer now has a team-leading 13 rounds at par or better, while Ovard is now second on the squad with 10 such rounds.
  *   Ovard is tied for the second-best par-3 scoring average through two rounds (2.88)>


STAT OF THE DAY
7 — Davis Ovard has shot at least one round at par or better in all seven stroke-play events he has entered this season.

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will compete alongside Lamar, Southern Miss and Iowa State in the final round on Tuesday morning. The round will begin with an 8:00 a.m. CT shotgun start at The Golf Club of Houston. Live stats and scoring for the team event are available at GolfStat.com<https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=28851>, while the All-American Individual can be tracked through Smartgolf.com.<https://smartgolf.online/current_tournament/standings>

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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