May 17, 2002
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Baylor's men's golf team shot a two-under-par 286 Friday and is tied for fourth place through two rounds of the 2002 NCAA Central Regional at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, Ark.
The Bears, with a two-round 578, stand 10 strokes off the pace of leader Oklahoma State's 568, and are five strokes ahead of the 10-team cutoff for advancement to the NCAA Championship finals. The top 10 teams from each of three regionals will advance to the NCAA finals to be held May 29 through June 1 at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.
Freshman Ryan Baca led Baylor Friday, shooting a two-under 70. Coupled with his even-par 72 in the first round, Baca is tied for eighth among individuals at 142. Junior Jamie McLeary is also eighth at 142 after consecutive 71s in the first two rounds.
Sophomore Adam Meyer carded a one-over 73 in the second round and is tied at 27th at 145 (72-73). Rounding out the Baylor scoring was freshman Derek Abel, who shot an even-par 72 Friday and stands tied at 61st at 149 after his first round 77. Sophomore Will Doughtie hit a one-over 73 in the second round and is 81st with a 151 (78-73).
The regional continues with a final 18 holes Saturday. Pleasant Valley is a 7,103-yard, par 72 golf course.
The Bears are making their fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA regionals, their highest finish as a team was in 2000 when the team placed 10th. Individually, Baylor's best performance came from Jimmy Walker who finished tied for fifth individually last season as a senior.
Baylor has finished in the top five in each of its last 10 tournaments.
1 Oklahoma State 287 281 5682 Purdue 290 279 5693 Oklahoma 289 288 577T4 Baylor 292 286 578T4 Toledo 291 287 578T6 Kansas 289 290 579T6 Tulsa 296 283 5798 North Carolina St. 294 286 5809 TCU 289 292 581T10 Illinois 293 290 583T10 Virginia Tech 296 287 58312 Southern Methodist 291 294 58513 Alabama 292 295 587
