Hoos Improve to 14th at NCAA Golf Championships

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May 30, 2015

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Bradenton, Fla. – Senior All-American Denny McCarthy (Rockville, Md.) rebounded from an opening round 4-over 76 by shooting 3-under 69 to help Virginia move up to a tie for 14th place after the second round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. The Cavaliers shot 6-over 294 on Saturday at The Concession Club in Bradenton, Fla., for a 36-hole total of 18-over 594.

Virginia enters Sunday’s crucial third round tied with No. 2 Texas and No. 10 Oregon on the leaderboard. Following Sunday’s play, the field will be trimmed to 15 teams that will compete Monday for the eight spots available for the match play portion of the tournament. USC, ranked No. 13, leads the field at 2-under 574 while No. 4 Illinois is second at 1-over 577.

The Cavaliers got their round off to a fantastic start and had an opportunity to crack the top 10 on the leaderboard before handing back too many strokes over the closing set of holes.

Starting on the 10th tee, Virginia made the turn at 1-under par and the four counting players stood 5-under through the team’s 13th hole. From that point the team counted four double bogeys and five bogeys and only managed two birdies, both by McCarthy, over its final five holes.

The par four, 480-yard fifth hole proved to be the most problematic for the team. Three players shot double-bogey on its layout that features water to the left off the tee and an approach shot over the same water on its dogleg left design.

“We played the first 13 holes really well and then we lost 11 shots coming in on the final five holes,” said Virginia coach Bowen Sargent. “Those strokes will be critical when it comes to making the 15-team cut or advancing to match play. Some of it probably had to do with the heat and fatigue because that is not the most difficult part of the golf course.”

Thanks to his solid play, McCarthy played himself into 22nd place after 36 holes. His 3-under 69 tied as the third-best score of the second round. He had three birdies and one bogey over a four-hole stretch between his fifth and eighth holes and then got hot again mid-way through his back nine, posting three birdies and one double-bogey over a five-hole stretch.

McCarthy managed just two birdies during his opening round.

McCarthy is playing in the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in his career. He competed as an individual the past two years, finishing sixth last year in Hutchinson, Kan. McCarthy entered the NCAA having played some of this best golf this spring. He finished his last five tournaments under par and was a combined 13-under for the ACC Championships and NCAA Regional. Saturday’s round marked the seventh time in his last nine rounds he has shot under par.

“No doubt, Denny saved us today,” Sargent said. “He was awesome. He played really well. He loves the big event and is comfortable in this setting and really responded.

“We needed Denny and Derek (Bard) to bounce back today. I thought they would and they did. We’ll need that again tomorrow from those two if we want to move on”

Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.) shot 73 on Saturday after opening the tournament with a 6-over 78. He moved up to 77th place overall at 151. UVa’s Jimmy Stanger (Tampa, Fla.) posted a round of 75 and is in 50th place at 149. Senior Ji Soo Park (Clifton, Va.), who led UVa in the first round with a 73, carded a score of 77 and dropped back to 60th at 150. Kyle Kochevar (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) shot 81 for a 36-hole total of 158.

UVa will play its third round starting at 8:20 a.m. from the first tee while paired with No. 15 Washington and No. 27 UNLV. While tied for 14th, the tournament tiebreaker has the Cavaliers seeded No. 16, moving them into the morning wave of team. The top 15 teams will tee off in the afternoon.

“That may not be a bad thing,” Sargent said. “Ideally, you want to be playing with the leaders, but the conditions will be better in the morning, the greens will be in better shape and it will not be as hot. We’ll get our round in and then keep hitting refresh to watch the scores in the afternoon.”

The overall leader in individual stroke play is SMU’s Bryson Dechambeau, who posted the day’s low round at 5-under 67. He tops the field at 7-under 137. Illinois’ Thomas Detry is second at 139.

Virginia is competing at the NCAA Championships for the 15th time in the program’s history. The Cavaliers are one of five ACC teams in this year’s field.

Live scoring of the event is online at NCAASports.com.

NCAA Championships
The Concession Golf Club
Bradenton, Fla.
Par-72, 7,483 yards
Second Round Results

Team Results 1. USC                289-285-574 2. Illinois           286-291-577 3. Georgia            288-293-581 3. LSU                292-289-581 5. South Florida      294-291-585 5. Vanderbilt         301-284-585 7. Georgia Tech       293-295-588 8. San Diego State    290-299-589 8. TCU                296-293-58910. Florida State      298-292-59011. Auburn             301-290-59112. Oklahoma State     298-294-59213. Charlotte          298-295-59314. Oregon             300-294-59414. Texas              294-300-59414. Virginia           300-294-59417. Washington         301-294-59518. UNLV               302-294-59619. UCLA               294-304-59820. SMU                296-303-59920. South Carolina     301-298-59922. UAB                308-292-60023. Florida            293-309-60224. Arizona State      299-306-60525. Duke               297-309-60626. Stanford           310-297-60727. Texas Tech         304-305-60928. Oklahoma           312-299-61129. Houston            301-312-61330. Clemson            306-308-614
Individual Leaders1. Bryson Dechambeau, SMU   70-67-1372. Thomas Detry, Illinois   68-71-1393. Zach Wright, LSU         70-70-1404. Paul Dunne, UAV          72-69-1414. Sean Crocker, USC        73-68-141
Virginia Results 22. Denny McCarthy  76-69-145 50. Jimmy Stanger   74-75-149 60. Ji Soo Park     73-77-150 77. Derek Bard      78-73-151134. Kyle Kochevar   77-81-158="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>