UVA Climbs Back into Hunt for NCAA Championships Bid

May 15, 2018

Norman, Okla. – The No. 46 Virginia men’s golf team moved up four spots on the leaderboard to position itself for a run at one of the five berths available to the NCAA Championships from its Regional site in Norman, Okla. UVA shot 7-under 281 on Tuesday to improve to seventh place after 36 holes of play.

The Cavaliers enter Wednesday’s final round at 2-over 578, just five strokes behind No. 10 Auburn and No. 39 BYU, who are tied for fourth place at 3-under 573. Oklahoma, playing on its home course, leads the 14-team field. The third-ranked Sooners stand at 9-under 567 and lead second-place Pepperdine by two shots. No. 27 North Florida is third at 5-under 571.

UVA’s second round score was the third best on the day. Only No. 33 Pepperdine (-14) and BYU (-10) performed better. A day after the Cavaliers’ four counting players finished their final nine holes at 10-over par, Virginia flipped that performance during the second round. The Hoos’ counting players were a combined 9-under on their back nine.

UVA senior Danny Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) and sophomore Ashton Poole (Charlotte, N.C.) both shot 4-under 68 during the second round to lead the Cavaliers’ rally. Poole is in seventh place at 3-under 141 and Walker is 14th at 1-under 143.

Both players started their rounds on the 10th hole and finished the back nine of the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club at even par. Walsh collected back-to-back birdies on holes two and three and then posted an eagle on the par-5, 627-yard fifth hole. Poole also had back-to-back birdies on two and three and then finished his round with birdies on eight and nine.

Freshman Jimmie Massie (Lynchburg, Va.) enters the final round in 29th place at 2-over 146. He shot even par 72 on Tuesday. Junior Thomas Walsh (High Point, N.C.) and sophomore Andrew Orischak (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) both shot 73 during the second round. Walsh is in 43rd place at 148 and Orischak is one shot behind him in 49th position.

Play was interrupted by nearly two hours during the afternoon due to lighting in the area.

Virginia is paired with Nevada and San Diego State in Wednesday’s final round. Those teams will tee off from the first hole starting at 8:25 a.m. CST. The top five teams from the six regional sites will advance to the NCAA Championships.

NCAA Norman Regional
Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club
Norman, Okla.
Par 72, 7,452 yards
Second-Round Results

Team Results 1. Oklahoma             283-284-567 2. Pepperdine           295-274-569 3. North Florida        288-283-571 4. Auburn               288-285-573 4. BYU                  295-278-573 6. Florida State        293-284-577 7. Virginia             297-281-578 8. Nevada               294-285-579 9. San Diego State      290-290-58010. Arkansas             288-293-58111. Sam Houston State    301-289-59011. Missouri-Kansas City 293-297-59013. Navy                 323-302-62514. Prairie View A&M     315-316-631
Individual Leaders1. Blaine Hale, Oklahoma        67-69-1362. Patrick Fishburn, BYU        71-66-1373. Joshua McCarthy, Pepperdine  74-65-1394. Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine  73-66-139
Virginia Results 7. Ashton Poole     73-68-14114. Danny Walker     75-68-14329. Jimmie Massie    74-72-14643. Thomas Walsh     75-73-14849. Andrew Orischak  76-73-149