Monday 06/21/1999
June 4, 1999
Jonathan Byrd and Lucas Glover are both within six shots of the individual lead, while the Clemson team is just 11 shots from the team lead heading into the final round of the NCAA men’s golf championships at Hazeltine Country Club in Chaska, MN.
Clemson has a score of 29 over par after 54 holes, tied for fourth with Brigham Young. Oklahoma State, who shot the best team round of the tournament with a 285 on Friday, is in first place at +18 (882). Georgia, who had a 290 on Friday, is second at +23 (887). Northwestern, the only team in the tournament to score under 300 in every round, is third at +28 (892).
Byrd and Glover continued their consistent play on Friday. Byrd had his third straight 73, while Glover had a two-over par 74. The native of Greenville has had rounds of 72-73-74 so far in the tournament. Both stand at 219 after 54 holes, tied for sixth in the field and just six shots behind leader Luke Donald of Northwestern.
Troy Kelly of Washington shot a 70 on Friday and stands at even par 216. He and Donald are the only golfers in the original 154-man field at even par or better.
Byrd and Glover did not get much help on Friday. Jani Saari, who was just four over par for the first 36 holes, shot a five-over 77 on Friday and is at +9 for the event, 225. Still, a 27th place ranking after 54 holes for Clemson’s number-five man is outstanding.
John Engler continued to struggle on Friday. For the second straight day he was five over par after five holes. This time a triple bogey eight on the par five third hole got his round off to a bad start. He finished with bogies in three of his final four holes. Engler is 16 over par for the tournament and stands 63rd. He entered the event one under par for 36 rounds of golf this year. He is now 20 over for his last 45 holes.
Freshman Michael Hoey shot an 80 and is at 239, tied for 75th.
Clemson had the lead entering the third round, by one shot over BYU. The Tigers had a seven shot lead on Oklahoma State when the day started, but that quickly evaporated. Clemson played the first three holes seven over par, while Oklahoma State played the first six seven-under. It took just one hour of play for the Cowboys, winners of two national championships in the 1990s, to take the lead.
After the Tigers were seven over the first three holes, they settled down over the next 11. Clemson played that spurt in just one over par, then struggled down the stretch. The team was seven over for the final four holes. That included a double bogey by Bird on the 17th hole and a bogey by Glover on 18.
“We played poorly today,” said Head Coach Larry Penley. “We needed to get some hole for Lucas and Jonathan, they played well overall, except for a couple of boo-boos coming in. We need the guys in the 5-4-3 spots to step up. We needed them today to stay close to Oklahoma State.
“My hat goes off to Oklahoma State and Georgia today, they played well the entire day. They got off to a fast start and kept it going.
“We got to eight over in a hurry, then held it there for a while and I thought we might end the day just a few shots off the lead. But, we struggled on the 15th holes. We played 16 well, even par, and that has been a problem for most teams. The 17th hole got us. Jonathan hit the ball too low and it went over the green into the rough. He took two shots in the rough.
“Finishing like we did today leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But we are not out of it. We will have to have everyone playing well to beat Oklahoma State. They seem to be the only two who can beat this course. They won the Preview in the fall here and now they have the lead after 54 holes.”
Byrd was one-under par for his round coming to the 17th hole and had a chance to break par on the Hazeltine Course. “I really wanted to beat the course,” said Bird. “That was certainly a goal today and the double-bogey on 17 ended that. I hit one club too many because of the wind. I hit a four iron and hooked it too much. Then I tried to flop it out of the rough and didn’t get it. I should have just chipped on to within 15 feet and been satisfied with bogey.” It was Byrd’s first double bogey in 52 holes of the tournament.
Clemson was 15 over par on Friday after shooting 14 over for the first two days. Clemson had scored a 297 on Thursday, the best round of the day. Now, Clemson is 11 shots out of the lead heading into the final day, virtually the same position they were in last year. UNLV had a 10-shot lead heading into the final round before defeating the Tigers by three shots.
Chaska, Minn. Hazeltine National Golf Club Par 72 7,196 YardsThrough 54 of 72 holes
TEAM SCORES (Par 864 for 54 holes)
1. Oklahoma State 289-308-285--882 (+18) 2. Georgia 292-305-290--887 (+23) 3. Northwestern 296-299-297--892 (+28) 4. Clemson 293-299-301--891 (+29) Brigham Young 293-298-302--893 (+29) 6. UNLV 295-298-306--899 (+35) North Carolina 294-307-299--899 (+35) Houston 297-305-297--899 (+35) Washington 307-301-291--899 (+35)10. Arizona State 297-307-296--900 (+36)11. Florida 297-311-298--906 (+42)12. Nebraska 301-305-304--910 (+46)13. Minnesota 303-305-303--911 (+47)14. Illinois 303-305-304--912 (+48)15. East Tennessee St. 298-306-317--921 (+57)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Par 216 for 54 holes)
1. Luke Donald, Northwestern 73-68-72--213 (-3)2. Troy Kelly, Washington 75-71-70--216 (Even)3. Max Harris, North Carolina 70-75-72--217 (+1)4. Paul Casey, Arizona State 72-77-69--218 (+2) Charles Howell, Oklahoma State 71-77-70--218 (+2) Derek Gillespie, Arizona 72-71-76--219 (+3) Jonathan Byrd, Clemson 73-73-73--219 (+3) Lucas Glover, Clemson 72-73-74--219 (+3).
The following teams did not make the second-round cut:
T 16 Toledo, U. of 308 305 613 +37T 16 California, U. of 307 306 613 +37T 18 Duke University 311 303 614 +38T 18 Oregon, U. of 300 314 614 +38T 20 South Carolina 308 307 615 +39T 20 Arizona, U. of 303 312 615 +39 22 Kansas, U. of 305 311 616 +40 23 Colorado, U. of 315 302 617 +41T 24 Mississippi, U. of 299 319 618 +42T 24 Arkansas, U. of 298 320 618 +42T 24 Colorado State Univ. 309 309 618 +42 27 Augusta State U. 307 318 625 +49 28 Georgia Tech 314 312 626 +50 29 San Diego State U. 308 320 628 +52 30 Richmond, Univ. of 318 324 642 +66
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