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Baylor Men’s Golf Earns NCAA Championship Berth

May 15, 2019
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Baylor men’s golf finished in third place at the NCAA Louisville Regional, punching its ticket to a school-record fourth consecutive NCAA Championship. The Bears posted the best round of the day with a 7-under 277 on Wednesday at University of Louisville Golf Club, and they finished with a three-round total of 7-under 845, which was 17 strokes in front of the top-five team cut to advance to nationals.

No. 25 Baylor (-7) entered the day 15 strokes back of No. 11 Auburn for the tournament lead, and the Bears made up the difference passing Auburn and moving into a tie with No. 1 Oklahoma State atop the leaderboard about two-thirds of the way through the final round. OSU (-14) closed with 11 birdies over the final six holes to take the regional title, and Auburn (-10) took second place. Tournament-host No. 21 Louisville (+7) and No. 13 North Florida (+8) also earned NCAA Championship berths, while No. 48 West Virginia (+10) finished in sixth place, just two shots shy of earning a trip to nationals.

Baylor also placed in front of Mississippi State (+14), No. 37 Iowa State (+15), No. 49 Arizona (+17), Southern Illinois (+25), No. 35 Arkansas State (+26), New Mexico (+29) and Jacksonville State (+34).

BU was led by senior Garrett May, who carded six birdies on his way to a final-round 5-under 66 to climb 15 spots into a tie for sixth place at 4-under 209. Colin Kober posted his best round of the tournament with a 2-under 69 to move up 16 spots into a tie for 25th place at 3-over 216. Ryan Grider nearly notched a bogey-free round, but even with a bogey on No. 18 he recorded 1-under 70 to finish tied for 18th place at 1-under 212.

Cooper Dossey posted Baylor’s final counting score of the day with a 1-over 72, and he finished tied for 12thplace at 2-under 211. Dossey has finished second, seventh and tied for 12th in his three career NCAA Regional appearances. Senior Braden Bailey shot 4-over 75 to finish tied for 50th place at 10-over 223. Bailey will become the first player in program history to make four NCAA Championship appearances, while May and Dossey will be appearing for the third consecutive season and Grider for the second straight year. Kober has been the Bears’ designated alternate in each of the last two NCAA Championships.

HIGHLIGHTS

Baylor finished second in the 13-team field in par-4 scoring at 11-over 4.07, third in par-3 scoring at 8-over 3.13 and eighth in par-5 scoring at 13-under 4.71.

Baylor’s 174 pars were third-most in the field, and BU tied for eighth with 43 birdies.

May tied for second in the 75-player field in par-4 scoring at 3-under 3.91, while Grider and Dossey tied for 13th at 1-over 4.03.

Grider tied for seventh in the tournament in par-3 scoring at even-par 3.00.

Kober ranked seventh with 38 pars across 54 holes.

May tied for fifth in the tournament with 12 birdies over three rounds.

Dossey tied for seventh in par-5 scoring at 5-under 4.44.

Baylor’s final round of 277 tied the third-best NCAA Tournament round in program history, while the Bears’ first round of 280 tied BU’s fifth-best NCAA Tournament round.

The top-seven NCAA Tournament rounds in school history have all been recorded in the last five years.

May’s final-round 66 tied the third-best individual NCAA Tournament round in program history, while Dossey’s first-round 67 tied for the sixth-best individual NCAA Tournament round.

Dossey has carded 68 or better in five of nine career rounds at NCAA Regionals.

STAT OF THE DAY
4 – Baylor extended its school-record by earning a fourth consecutive NCAA Championship berth. The Bears had only been to consecutive NCAA Championships once prior to the current streak (1966, 1967) and had only advanced through Regionals to qualify for Nationals twice prior to the Mike McGraw era (2002, 2010). This year will make the ninth NCAA Championship appearance in program history (1960, 1966, 1967, 2002, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).

TOP QUOTE

“I don’t take getting to the national championship for granted,” head coach Mike McGraw said. “I’ve been a bunch, but it’s always exciting to know that you’re going to be there and you’re tied for first in the national championship right now. There is nobody ahead of us at nationals right now. To know that and feel that and believe that, you know you’ve got just as good a chance as anyone. So, you don’t take it for granted. I’ve missed nationals twice in 25 years, and both times were painful and I knew what I was missing when I was home doing gardening and weeding the yard trying to punish myself. You do not take the years for granted when you advance to the national championship – they’re great, always.”

WHAT'S NEXT

Baylor will compete at the 2019 NCAA Championship, which runs May 24-29 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. The Bears will join Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and TCU to give the Big 12 Conference five squads in the 30-team field at the Championship. The nation’s top-14 ranked squads and 23 of the top-25 advanced to the NCAA Championship. Live scoring of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will be available at www.golfstat.com. Follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the season. 

2019 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

No. 1 Oklahoma State (1st in Louisville)

No. 2 Arizona State (t-2nd in Stanford)

No. 3 Wake Forest (3rd in Myrtle Beach)

No. 4 Vanderbilt (3rd in Athens)

No. 5 Oklahoma (3rd in Pullman)

No. 6 Texas (1st in Austin)

No. 7 USC (5th in Austin)

No. 8 Georgia Tech (4th in Pullman)

No. 9 Duke (2nd in Athens)

No. 10 California (4th in Myrtle Beach)

No. 11 Auburn (2nd in Louisville)

No. 12 Stanford (1st in Stanford)

No. 13 North Florida (5th in Louisville)

No. 14 LSU (5th in Stanford)

No. 16 Georgia (1st in Athens)

No. 17 South Carolina (t-5th in Pullman)

No. 18 Pepperdine (4th in Austin)

No. 19 Clemson (3rd in Austin)

No. 20 Texas A&M (1st in Pullman)

No. 21 Louisville (4th in Louisville)

No. 22 Liberty (5th in Athens)

No. 23 Illinois (1st in Myrtle Beach)

No. 25 Baylor (3rd in Louisville)

No. 26 North Carolina (t-2nd in Stanford)

No. 30 TCU (2nd in Austin)

No. 32 BYU (2nd in Pullman)

No. 34 UNLV (5th in Myrtle Beach)

No. 46 Ohio State (2nd in Myrtle Beach)

No. 58 Georgia Southern (4th in Stanford)

No. 60 SMU (4th in Athens)

Tags: Golf, Baylor
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