University of Washington
NCAA Regionals at Gold Mountain
Pan Leads, UW With Work To Do At NCAA Regionals
May 15, 2015 | Men's Golf
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BREMERTON, Wash. – Husky senior Cheng-Tsung Pan continued his great run of recent play, firing a second round of 3-under 69 to take the lead at the NCAA Bremerton Regional at Gold Mountain. Pan led the Dawgs to a day of 2-over 290 to sit in seventh place as a team with some work to do to qualify for the NCAA Finals.
No. 12 Washington struggled for much of the day, but made up some ground over the final few holes. The Dawgs played the last four holes at 4-under without a bogey to get within four shots of advancing position. The Huskies are now 1-over for the tournament, while No. 18 Baylor is in fifth at 3-under. The top five teams will advance to the NCAA Finals in Bradenton, Fla., later this month.
“We really needed that finish,” said head coach Matt Thurmond. “It was clear that it was not going our way pretty early, so it was one of those days that you just needed to hang in there. I don't think we did a great job of that, but we did it well enough to be in a good spot going into tomorrow.”
No. 31 TCU leads the Regional at 12-under, one shot better than No. 30 UAB. No. 17 USC is third at 7-under, while No. 6 South Carolina is fourth at 5-under. Baylor holds the current cutline at 3-under after the round of the day at 8-under 280. No. 43 Iowa State is just one shot back at 2-under and like the Dawgs will look to get into qualifying position over the final round.
“The situation reminds me of 2006 at Tucson National when we were on the outside looking in going into the final round. It was James Lepp's senior year and we had one of the lowest rounds in the program's history and ended up finishing third. I am not sure if our guys will connect with that, but really it is just one round. It's not about the other teams, we just need to play well.”
Pan continued his hot play, making five birdies on the day to take a two-shot lead. Kyle Mueller of Michigan shot the low round of the day, a 6-under 66, to get into a tie for second with Paul Dunne of UAB, Rico Hoey and Sean Crocker of USC and Giulio Castagnara of TCU.
“What Pan is doing is huge for us right now,” said Thurmond. “He's keeping us in it, but I think tomorrow you'll see some other guys step up and join him.”
After bogeying the long par-three 12th to relinquish his outright lead, Pan birdied 14, 15 and 18 to move to 8-under for the week. He now has 11 birdies on the week to go with just three bogeys. Pan will go for his Husky record eighth win on Saturday.
The top individual from a non-advancing team will also earn a trip to the NCAA Finals, although Pan hopes to not have to worry about that.
Also playing well was Jonathan Sanders who finished with a round of even-par for the second-straight day. Sanders made a huge eagle on the par-five 14th, sinking a putt from 50-plus feet that helped ignite the Dawgs strong finish. Playing to a back pin, Sanders put his long approach to the front of the green, leaving a long putt over a mound. Sanders read it perfectly, judging the speed just right to trickle it into the cup. He is now tied for 23rd for the tournament after a day of two birdies, four bogeys and one big eagle.
The third score used by the Dawgs came from freshman Jordan Lu who finished with a 2-over 74. Lu double-bogeyed the first and bogeyed the second to start 3-over, but then played 1-under over the final 16 holes. He is now tied for 54th at 7-over 151 for the tournament.
Corey Pereira dropped to a tie for 29th after a round of 3-over 75. He is now 2-over for the tournament after a tough front nine on Friday that included a double-bogey on the par-five sixth. Pereira was much better on the back, playing that side at even par, including a late birdie on the par-three 16th.
Frank Garber rounded out the squad with a 6-over 78. He is now tied for 69th at 13-over 155 for the week.
Washington will be out early on Saturday morning for the final round of the Bremerton Regional. The Huskies will tee off No. 10 beginning at 7:30 a.m. playing with Michigan and UC Davis.
“I think we are due for a good round and think we will have a good round,” said Thurmond. “I actually like that we are behind the number right now because we need to go attack. We have been a little careful and cautious and scared and you don't play your best that way.”
Players Mentioned
