CARLSBAD, Calif. – Another solid round of play helped Virginia easily advance to Monday’s final round of stroke play at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships at the Omni La Costa Resort North Course. The Cavaliers shot 3-over 291 during the third round of the tournament for a three-day total of 4-over 868.
After leading the 30-team field the first two days, UVA slipped back to second place following Illinois posting a round of 6-under 282 to take over the top spot on the leaderboard at 2-under 862. That was the best single-round score of the tournament. Vanderbilt holds down third place at 9-over 873 while Florida State is fourth at 10-over 874.
After the third round the field was cut to 15 teams for Monday’s final round of stroke play. The top eight teams will then advance to match play. UVA heads into the fourth round with a 16-stroke advantage over Florida, the team currently in eighth place. The Cavaliers were seventh in stroke play last season and lost to the Gators 3-2 in the quarterfinals of match play.
“You want to make the top eight,” said Virginia coach Bowen Sargent. “Obviously our goal is to win and get the number-one position, but you want to be in the top eight and get a chance to play in match play.”
The NCAA individual champion will also be crowned Monday and UVA’s Ben James in in the hunt for medalist honors.
James led the Cavaliers during the third round by shooting 3-under 69. After three rounds he is tied with Stanford’s Karl Vilips for second place at 3-under 213, just two shots behind Ohio State’s Adam Wallin. James’ scoring total includes a one-stroke penalty he was accessed during the opening round for a pace of play violation.
“I’m very excited,” said James about his first three rounds at the tournament. “My pitching and chipping have been the things I’ve been most impressed about. I’ve pitched and chipped really good, and that was something I knew was going to be tough. It’s been cool to see me do that well in those areas. My putting has been really nice, and I haven’t had many three-putts if any. My speed has been good. I knew that would be very important. It’s tough to make putts out here but if you can lag them up pretty good, it’s very important.”
On Sunday, James played a bogey-free round, posting birdies on the fourth, eighth and 12th holes. He is one of just five players to post a bogey-free round during the first three days of the tournament that totals 468…
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