Yuan Finishes 16th; Lee Places 23rd at NCAA Pacific Regional

Wednesday, May 16

Stockton, CA

All Day

University of Washington

NCAA Stockton Regional

Yuan Finishes 16th; Lee Places 23rd at NCAA Pacific Regional

May 16, 2018 | Men's Golf

Final Results

STOCKTON, Calif. --- Washington junior Carl Yuan used six birdies on the back nine to finish the final round of the 2018 NCAA Pacific Regional with a 4-under 68 to tie for 16th overall at 3-under 213 while sophomore Henry Lee placed 23rd overall at 1-under 215 on Wednesday at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, Calif.

Yuan made a late charge up the leaderboard with six birdies on the back nine, helping him move up 18 spots on the day. He opened the day with a birdie on his first hole, but would bogey two, four and seven to sit at 2-over at the turn. But the six birdies helped him finish strong with his second 4-under 68 of the tournament. However, his second round 77 turned out to be too much for the junior to overcome in his quest for a spot at the NCAA National Championships as he finished with a 213 (68-77-68).

"Carl finished strong today with six birdies in his last eight holes," said UW Head Coach Alan Murray. "He made seven in total today and they were all virtually tap-ins due to great play on the par 5s and some superb wedge play. His second round proved costly overall but was sandwiched by two excellent rounds."

"It was not necessarily the best start, I had a couple of bogeys on the front nine, didn't putt well and misjudged the wind on the first five, six holes," said Yuan. "I was getting used to in on the back nine and hit a couple of shots close and had tap in birdies. I finished well on the back nine, getting used to the wind and getting used to the shots I was hitting. A solid day, more positive!"

"Overall, I would say (the tournament was) a 70 out of 100 for me," said Yuan. "It wasn't my best tournament. I had a solid first and final round but that second round was really shaky and caused me some trouble for sure. There is a lot to learn from every tournament I play in and the opportunity we have is just amazing."

Lee continued his solid play at the tournament, recording a 1-under 71 to finish at 1-under 215 (70-74-71) for the tournament. After five pars to open the round, Lee recorded a birdie on the par 5 sixth hole—his third-straight day with a four on the hole. He dropped back to even after a bogey on 13 but recovered with a nice birdie on 14 to move back to 1-under. Lee would birdie 16 for the third-straight day to move to 2-under but finished with a 71 after a bogey on 18.

"Henry scrambled really well today and managed to shoot 1-under due to some fine putting," said Murray. "He hung tough. The first two rounds he hit the ball better but didn't get hot with the blade which is what you need on this golf course."

"Lots of positives, but it was another boring round," said Lee. "I putted really well but had a tough time hitting fairways and greens. I didn't hit the ball like I wanted to but the short game was really good—surprisingly. Ball-striking just wasn't there and I couldn't hit many fairways. Not enough birdie opportunities. It was unfortunate, but a positive step moving forward."

The Huskies were vying for one individual spot to the NCAA National Championships which went to the golfer with the lowest score not on one of the five teams to advance. That spot went to UTEP's Charles Corner who finished at 9-under 207 (69-69-69). Kansas took home the team title at 20-under par 844 (282-281-282), holding off a late charge by Stanford by one stroke (-19, 285-283-277=845). Iowa State, Alabama and Oregon rounded out the quintet of advancing teams.