PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The No. 31 Arkansas men’s golf team came alive in the afternoon on day one of the Sea Best Invitational, firing the low round of the tournament and posting 291-272 – 563 (+3) to sit alone in fifth place at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass.
The Razorbacks opened the day at 11-over par in the morning round, but the bounced back in the afternoon and recorded the low round of the championship at 8-under to jump right back into contention.
No. 2 Florida leads the way at 8-under, while No. 13 North Carolina is one shot off the pace at 7-under. Lipscomb (E), No. 27 Florida State (+2) and No. 31 Arkansas (+3) round out the top five.
Freshman Luis Garza and junior Alvaro Ortiz spearheaded the charge in the afternoon, as the duo combined to shoot 7-under and send Arkansas racing five spots up the leaderboard.
Garza is T-7th overall after rounds of 71-67 – 138 (-2) that featured six birdies, including a bogey free back nine with five birdies. He caught fire with five birdies in a seven-hole span to post the low side of the day with a 5-under 30 on the back nine.
After an uncharacteristic 5-over 75 in the opening round, Ortiz bounced back in a big way in the afternoon, posting six birdies and tying for the low round of the day with a 4-under 66. He recorded rounds of 75-66 – 141 (+1) to jump up 40 spots to T-14th overall heading into the final round.
Freshman William Buhl continued the trend of strong play in the second round with 73-69 – 142 (+2) to sit T-19th overall, while sophomore Charles Kim shaved four shots off his morning round to sign for 74-70 – 144 (+4), good for T-25th.
Freshman Dylan Naidoo rounded out the team at T-32nd with rounds of 73-72 – 145 (+5), and freshman Mason Overstreet played as an individual and finished up the second round T-54th at 75-74 – 149 (+9).
The third and final round of the Sea Best Invitational tees off Tuesday morning at 7:45 a.m. CT with live stats available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
For more information on Arkansas men’s golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
Razorback Lineup Day 1 Results