Arkansas Finishes 18th at NCAA Championship
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Arkansas started the day tied for 20th, worked its way into the coveted 15th spot with a handful of holes to play before ultimately finishing 18th (870 / +30) at the 2023 NCAA Championships, played at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course.
Arkansas recorded its 22nd top-20 finish at the NCAA Championship – ninth under head coach Brad McMakin – and its third straight. In fact, Arkansas was one of just 13 teams that reached the national finals at Grayhawk in each of the last three years.
The Razorbacks had a solid final round, shooting 288 thanks to a bogey-free, 3-under-par 67 by Segundo Oliva Pinto. In fact, Oliva Pinto rocketed 60 spots up the leaderboard on the final day to tie for 55th, just two shot shy of the cut to play a fourth day as an individual.
Arkansas started on the 10th hole and was paired with Oklahoma (19th after 36 holes) and Ohio State (tied with Arkansas for 20th) in the final round. Ohio State shot a 4-over-par 284 to climb into a tie for 15th with Texas Tech at +26. Oklahoma was at +27, followed by Arkansas at +30. The Razorbacks were 20th after nine holes and made it in the top 15 after a birdie by Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira on hole 2 (his 11th hole), bridies by Julian Perico, Segundo Oliva Pinto and Wil Gibson on hole 4 (their 13th hole) and another birdie by Perico on hole 5 (his 14th hole).
“It was a great week and I am super proud of our players,” head coach Brad McMakin said. “They fought really hard today and got among the top 15 with four or five holes to play. We just could not overcome the hole we put ourselves in yesterday.
“These seniors have been great ambassadors for our program. It was a great accomplishment to be just one of 13 teams to get here each of the last three years. Then you consider we finished in the top 18 all three years. We also won an SEC team title and Segundo was SEC individual champion. They have just meant so much to the program. They are great kids, they all graduated, they helped us recruiting and they have played unbelievably well. They will be hard to replace, and I am really going to miss them.”
Despite the team’s season being over, Fernandez de Oliveira will play on Friday. However, the extent of his stay could vary. The top nine individuals not on an advancing team (top 15) will play a full final round to determine their final finish. With Ohio State and Texas Tech being tied for 15th after 54 holes, the two teams will compete in a Monday-morning playoff to advance. The winner of that playoff will affect Fernandez de Oliveira’s standing among the final nine individuals.
If Ohio State wins the team playoff (set for 10 am CT), Fernandez de Oliveira will be in a three-way playoff to determine who advances. He could play one hole or as many as it takes until there is a winner, who will turn around to play in the fourth and final round Monday afternoon. If Texas Tech wins the team playoff, no individual playoff will be needed and Fernandez de Oliveira will be the ninth and final individual to play Monday afternoon.
Fernandez de Oliveira posted a 75 in the final round and is tied for 44th (66-74-75=215 / =5).
Oliva Pinto’s 67 ties Wil Gibson’s 67 from round one as the fourth-best, single-round by a Razorback at the NCAA Championship. Gibson bounced back from a 79 in round two to shoot 73 on Sunday with 14 pars, a birdie, two bogeys and a double. He finished tied for 74th (219 / +9). Perico, like Gibson, also shot 73 in his final round as a Razorback and he finished tied for 94th (221 / +11).
2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships
Location: Grayhawk Golf Club – Raptor Course || Scottsdale, Ariz.
Par: 70 • Yards: 7,28 yards
Team Results:
1 #3 Illinois 285-273-276=834 / -6
2 #8 Pepperdine 281-287-269=837 / -3
3 #9 Florida 283-278-278=839 / -1
4 #2 North Carolina 282-284-275=841 / +1
5 #11 Georgia Tech 280-286-276=842 / +2
6 #6 Stanford 292-286-274=850 / +10
7 #4 Arizona State 291-281-279=851 / +11
T8 #1 Vanderbilt 282-288-283=853 / +13
T8 #7 Florida State. 284-287-282=853 / +13
10 #16 Virginia 290-281-283=854 / +14
11 #12 Auburn 288-286-282=856 / +16
12 #14 Texas A&M 289-285-283=857 / +17
13 #15 Alabama 290-282-289=861 / +21
14 #25 Georgia 285-291-288=864 / +24
T15 #23 Ohio State 287-295-284=866 / +26
T15 #5 Texas Tech 282-295-289=866 / +26
17 #10 Oklahoma 287-293-287=867 / +27
18 #28 Arkansas 281-301-288=870 / +30
19 #17 Texas 295-292-285=872 / +32
20 #40 San Francisco 285-294-294=873 / +33
21 #48 Colorado 292-287-295=874 / +34
22 #33 Duke 292-300-288=8780 / +38
T23 #41 Chattanooga 294-300-285=879 / +39
T23 #37 BYU 289-287-303=879 / +39
T25 #46 New Mexico 293-296-291=880 / +40
T25 #18 Mississippi State 291-295-294=880 / +40
27 #19 Oregon 292-291-299=882 / +42
28 #22 Colorado State 296-299-290=885 / +45
29 #35 East Tennessee State 302-297-286=886 / +46
30 #30 Baylor 304-297-292=893 / +53
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
