CARLSBAD, Calif. – Braxton Watts earned the chance compete for an NCAA Individual Championship during the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships before ultimately finishing in a tie for 35th on Monday afternoon at the Omni La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.
Watts started the day needing to earn his place in the fourth round, playing in a playoff with two other golfers that started on the 16th, but the junior from Farmington, Utah logged a par on that hole, which earned him one of the two remaining individual spots.
During the fourth round, Watts started on the back nine and reeled off four consecutive pars. After a couple missteps on the 14th and 15th, he collected three more pars before making the turn at 2-over, then posted five more to begin the second half of his day. On the par-5 sixth, Watts knocked in his first birdie of the afternoon, which helped him cap the front nine at 1-over. His final Monday score was a 3-over 75, putting him 7-over for the tournament.
Watts is the third Ute in the last six seasons to earn the chance to play in all four rounds of stroke play at the NCAA Championships, joining Tristan Mandur, who tied for 17th in 2021, and Kyler Dunkle, who earned a share of 28th in 2019.
Monday’s action also goes down as the final round of golf in 2023-24 for the Utes, who reached Nationals for the second time in three seasons. It marks just the second time in program history Utah has reached the NCAA Championships multiple times in such a short span, an opportunity they earned by placing fourth at the NCAA Austin Regional, their best regional showing in school history.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Golf program along with tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Utah Athletics…