Ortiz Holding Strong Atop The Leaderboard
CARMEL, Calif. – Arkansas men’s golf sophomore Alvaro Ortiz finished Friday’s first round of the Carmel Cup in a tie for the lead and on Saturday took sole possession of the top spot on the leaderboard with a two-under 70. Ortiz enters Sunday’s final round at Pebble Beach with a two-stroke lead, while the Razorbacks sit in a tie for fifth place in the loaded eight team field.
One of just four players in the field to shoot under-par the first two rounds, Ortiz has carved up the back nine to the tune of five-under par. His two-under 70 on Saturday was a team-low for the second straight day, backing up the three-under 69 from Friday’s opening round that featured birdies in three of his last four holes. Ortiz carried the momentum from the end of Friday’s round to the start of Saturday as he birdied two of his first three holes.
Joining Ortiz as one of the four players to reach red numbers both days is senior Taylor Moore who sits in a tie for fourth place after back-to-back 71s. Dating back to his junior campaign, Moore has finished under-par in 15 of his last 31 rounds played and on Saturday carded the team’s first eagle of the season on the par 5 6th hole. The two-time PING All-Central Region choice has done his damage on the front nine, going a combined five-under with just one bogey.
Arkansas will return to the course on Sunday at 9:10 a.m. CT sitting just nine strokes out of second place. All eight teams in the field were either ranked or received votes in the preseason Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll.
Live scoring for Sunday’s final round is available at www.Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
@RazorbackMGolf Lineup
1. Alvaro Ortiz – 69-70/139 (-5)
T4. Taylor Moore – 71-71/142 (-2)
T20. Kolton Crawford – 72-73/145
T30. Nicolas Echavarria – 71-78/149
45. Zach Coats – 74-81/155
47. Noah Edmondson – 77-83/160
Note: All six players are part of the lineup with the top five scores each round contributing to the team score.
Carmel Cup Standings (Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll)
1. Oklahoma State (16) – 361-351/712
T2. Vanderbilt (10) – 357-364/721
T2. Georgia (12) – 361-360/721
4. Oklahoma (18) – 364-359/723
T5. Texas Tech (RV) – 377-353/730
T5. Arkansas (RV) – 357-373/730
7. Ohio State (RV) – 372-364/736
8. TCU (RV) – 377-362/739
