REBELS TIED FOR LEAD AT NCAA REGIONAL
UNLV men’s golf team in first place heading into Saturday’s final round in Columbus, Jonson holds individual lead by a stroke
The UNLV men’s golf team shot a second-round 8-over-par 292 on Friday to jump from fourth place to a tie for first at the 2013 NCAA Columbus Regional, which is being played at The Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course (par 71, 7,286 yards).
The Rebels matched their first-round score and are tied with South Carolina after 36 holes at 16-over 584 to lead the field. Auburn and Stanford are both tied for third at 18-over, while Texas Tech and New Mexico are tied for fifth at 19-over. Missouri is seventh at 27-over. Only three shots separate the top six teams in the field.
UNLV sophomore Carl Jonson shot a 1-over 72 on Friday to move into first place among individuals at 2-under 140, one shot ahead of Texas Tech’s Matias Dominguez and South Carolina’s Will Starke, who are both tied for second at 1-under 141.
Jonson birdied No. 4, 6 and 7 before bogeying No. 13, recording a double bogey on No. 15 and then bogeying No. 16.
“I think the course played a little tougher today,” Jonson said. “The wind really picked up and there were some tough pins out there. For the most part I played pretty similar to yesterday. I didn’t hit very many fairways and it was really tough playing from the rough. I missed a couple of putts I probably should have made.
“I think I played really well on the front nine but just got a little tired on the backside. Overall, it was a pretty solid day. The course played a little tougher today for sure. There were some pins that were in trickier spots. We are probably right on the cut line for getting through, so we really need to come out and play a good round tomorrow.”
Other Rebel players: junior Nicholas Maruri is tied for 20th at 6-over 148 after a second-round 2-over 73, freshman AJ McInerney and senior Kevin Penner are both tied for 25th at 7-over 149 after a 2-over 73 and 3-over 74, respectively, and sophmore Kurt Kitayama is tied for 40th at 9-over 151 after a second-round 6-over 77.
There are a total of six 54-hole regional tournaments. The Columbus Regional consists of 13 teams and 75 individuals. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each of the regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship finals, which will be played May 28-June 2 at The Capital City Club, Crabapple Course in Atlanta. Georgia Tech is the host institution for this year’s national championship.
This year marks UNLV’s 25th straight appearance in a NCAA Regional, which is the record for most consecutive appearances.
The tournament will conclude with 18 holes on Saturday. UNLV is slated to begin the final round off the No. 1 hole with tee times scheduled every 10 minutes from 8:40-9:20 a.m. ET. with South Carolina and Auburn. Live stats are available courtesy of Golfstat through a link on UNLVRebels.com.