The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
NCAA Stanford Regional
UAB Fires Six-Under Par 274 During NCAA Second Round
5/18/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 18, 2012
NCAA Championship Blog | Live Scoring | Round Three Tee Times
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Sophomore Thomas Sutton carded a four-under par 66 to lead the UAB men's golf team to a six-under par 274 during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Regionals, held at the Stanford Golf Course. As a result of another solid round, the Blazers will enter the third and final 18 holes in a tie for third overall with an eight-under par 552 (278-274).
Friday's second round score matched the third-best 18-hole team score in program history, set at the 2008 NCAA East Regional second round. Moreover, the team's 36-hole mark of 552 is the second-lowest tally in UAB lore, trailing only the 545 set during the first two rounds of the 2007 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.
"For us to be setting those kind of marks is a great testament of this golf team," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "We played great today. To be in this position gives us a great chance to advance and that's what we came her for. We have five guys who are all capable of playing well. I am excited about our chances to get to nationals."
Sutton led the Blazers for a second consecutive day, setting a personal 36-hole record of six-under par 134 (68-66), which places him in a tie for sixth overall entering Saturday's final round. Furthermore, his round of 66 on Friday set a personal best during the spring season, and was only one stroke off his career-record mark of 65.
"I thought I played pretty solid," Sutton said. "I just tried to keep my ball in play. I got off to a good start with a birdie on the first hole, which can be good or bad. We are in a good position and hopefully we can keep it up."
Sutton recorded five birdies and only one bogey during Friday's round on the par 70, 6,747-yard Stanford Golf Course. It marks the first time in his career he has recorded back-to-back sub-70 rounds in his collegiate career, while he now has 10 rounds of par or better this season.
Freshman Paul Dunne also has two consecutive rounds below 70 in the three-day, 54-hole Regional after firing a one-under par 69 on Friday. The Conference USA All-Freshman honoree, who carded a 68 on Thursday, will enter final round play in a tie for 17th overall with a 138.
Sophomore Sam Love made the biggest improvement by a UAB golfer from the first to the second round, bettering his score by five strokes after finishing with a two-under par 69 during second-round play. He vaulted to a tie for 33rd overall with a 141 (73-68).
Senior Jason Shufflebotham (72-71) and junior Hunter Hawkins (69-74) are both in a tie for 47th overall with a 143 to round out the Blazers.
Shufflebotham had an up-and-down second round. The Presatyn, Wales native started the day by going four over through his first four holes and was staring at a long day on the links. But the senior captain suddenly caught fire and had a stretch of terrific golf, going four-under par over his next 13 holes.
Unfortunately, Shufflebotham ended with a double bogey on the 18th hole as his second shot landed deep in a bunker, which resulted in a one-over par instead of a one-under par round.
Second-ranked and top seed California vaulted to the top of the leaderboard with a 10-under par round on Friday. The Bears (546) lead 14th-ranked San Diego State (547), who shot an incredible 15-under par 265 during the second round. Stanford, ranked No. 8 in the nation, is in a tie for third with the Blazers, while No. 47 Tennessee (553) and San Francisco (554) round out the top five.
The Blazers will be looking to earn their first bid to the NCAA Nationals on Saturday since 2008. The top five teams from the Regional will advance to the national tournament, which will be held May 29-June 3 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
UAB will tee off Saturday's final round at 7:50 a.m. PT (9:50 a.m. CT) from hole No. 1 and will be playing alongside Tennessee and San Francisco.
Livestats for the final 18 holes can be found by logging onto Golfstat.com.
