Utah’s Braxton Watts finished atop the individual leaderboard at the NCAA regionals at Golf Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton, Wash., but the Utes fell just one stroke short of the cut to move on to …
Utah’s Braxton Watts finished atop the individual leaderboard at the NCAA regionals at Golf Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton, Wash., but the nationally-ranked No. 17 Utes fell just one stroke short of the cut to move on to the NCAA championships.
Watts finished 12-under during the three-day event, posting an even par in round one before finishing 6-under in both rounds two and three.
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Despite Watts’ excellent performance, the Utes fell just one spot short of the fifth-place finish they needed to advance, posting a three-day total of 1-over.
Utah posted scores of 3-over and 5-over during the first two days, then made a comeback attempt on Wednesday, finishing 7-under for a 1-over three-day score.
“This team has a lot of heart, and they don’t know how to quit,” Utah coach Garrett Clegg said in a press release. “We gave it everything to try to advance today but we just couldn’t get it done. I’m so happy for Braxton. He played incredible golf this week and it’s great that he will finish his season at the NCAA championships. It’s really incredible what the team did during this season, they’re truly a special group.”
The Utes were edged out by South Carolina, who finished the three-day event at even par, for the fifth and final spot. Watts will continue his season as an individual participant in the NCAA championships in Carlsbad, Calif., at Omni La Costa Resort.
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Watts led the charge for the finish with his 12-under score, but the rest of the team finished over par, with Gabriel Palacios finishing 1-over, Sergio Jimenez finishing 5-over and Davis Johnson finishing 15-over.
Florida finished 28-under to secure the regional title, while Arizona State (25-under), Colorado (4-under) USF (2-under) and South Carolina (even), all advanced to the NCAA championships.
Source: Utah News