EUGENE, Ore. – Baylor men’s golf is in 26th place after shooting 13-over-par 293 in Friday’s first round at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Eugene Country Club. The Bears are three shots back of the top 15, which is the cut to advance to Monday’s fourth round.
Baylor (+13) is in front of No. 9 Auburn (+14), No. 33 UAB (+14), No. 35 Houston (+16) and No. 32 Purdue (+19). All 30 teams in the field are ranked among the nation’s top 50 in the latest GolfStat rankings, where the Bears are ranked No. 26.
Baylor was led by Hunter Shattuck, who is tied for 33rd place individually after recording four birdies and five bogeys on his way to a 1-over 71. Braden Bailey tied for the team lead with four birdies, but a double bogey on his last hole dropped him to 2-over 72 and a tie for 52nd place. Andreas Gjesteby and Matthew Perrine both shot 5-over 75 to tie for 103rd place, with Gjesteby recovering after he hit the water twice on his way to a quadruple bogey on the par-3 16th hole. Perrine bogeyed five of his first nine holes, but shot even-par over the final nine. Freddy Andersen is tied for 145th with an 8-over 78.
The Bears started from the 10th tee and scored significantly better in the second half of their round. The four counting scores combined to shoot 13-over-par, with 14 bogeys, two double bogeys and a quadruple bogey prior to the turn. Those players combined to shoot even-par over their final nine holes, with Shattuck going 1-under, Bailey and Perrine shooting even-par and Gjesteby going 1-over.
Saturday’s second round begins at 9 a.m. CT, but the Bears don’t tee off until 3:15 p.m. Baylor will again be paired with players from San Diego State and Virginia. Shattuck will be first off the tee at 3:15, and he’ll be followed in 11-minute intervals by Perrine, Bailey, Andersen and Gjesteby.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Baylor’s counting scores combined to shoot +13 over their first nine holes (Nos. 10-18), but recovered to shoot even-par over their final nine (Nos. 1-9).
- The four counting scores made fewer birdies in the second half of their round (seven on Nos. 10-18, six on Nos. 1-9), but mistakes were minimized with only four bogeys and one double bogey.
- Baylor’s four counting scores combined for 25 pars on holes 1-9 after making only 13 pars on holes 10-18.
- Baylor is tied for ninth in the 30-team field in par-5 scoring at 4-under 4.60. The Bears are 17th in par-4 scoring at 12-over 4.20 and 30th in par-3 scoring at 13-over 3.65.
- Baylor’s 14 birdies tied for sixth-most in the field.
- Hunter Shattuck is tied for second in the 156-player field in par-5 scoring at 2-under 4.00.
- Braden Bailey and Shattuck are tied for 14th in the field with four birdies apiece.
- Matthew Perrine was one of eight players to birdie the 490-yard, par-4 17th hole, which played as the toughest hole in the round with an average relative to par of +0.58.
- Bailey made one of 15 birdies on the 442-yard, par-4 sixth hole.
- Andreas Gjesteby and Shattuck were among the 15 players to make birdie on the 408-yard, par-4 13th hole.
- Gjesteby was one of 16 players to birdie the 192-yard, par-3 14th hole.
- Freddy Andersen and Bailey were among 12 players to birdie the 450-yard, par-4 18th hole.
STAT OF THE DAY
25 – Baylor’s four counting scores combined to make 25 pars over their final nine holes, nearly doubling the 13 pars they made over the first nine holes.
TOP QUOTE
“You can be just a little off and you make a bogey, and it’s like ‘I didn’t really do anything that bad, but I made a bogey,’ and that’s the way championship golf should be. It should reward good play,” head coach Mike McGraw said. “If you knock it in the fairway you’re going to get a good birdie look out here, but if you knock it in the rough you’re not going to get one.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor is again paired with San Diego State and Virginia for Saturday’s second round. Shattuck will be first off the tee at 3:15 p.m. CT, and he’ll be followed in 11-minute intervals by Perrine, Bailey, Andersen and Gjesteby, respectively. For live scoring information throughout the tournament, visit www.golfstat.com. Follow @BaylorMGolf on twitter for updates throughout the season.
