Razorbacks Finish 9th at NCAA Championship
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Arkansas placed three players among the nation’s top 25 – the best by the program since 1994 – and placed ninth – the best since a runner-up finish in 2009 – with a score of 1159 at the 2022 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, played at Grayhawk Golf Club – Raptor Course.
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira capped a career year by placing ninth to become the 10th Razorback to post a top 10 finish at the NCAA Championship. He finished with a 2-over-par total of 282 over 72 holes two strokes behind the winning score. Segundo Oliva Pinto and Julian Perico each tied for 25th at +8 for the four days.
The last time Arkansas put three players inside the top 25 was 1994 when the team finished fourth as Bud Still (T13th), Steve Bright (T17th), Craig Young (T25th) and Rod Ellis (T25th) all accomplished the feat. (Note Tag Ridings rounded out the squad by tying for 33rd.)
“The year was great,” head coach Brad McMakin said. “They played consistently all year. I was really proud of them this week. Obviously, we didn’t get to advance to match play. We made a few too many mistakes but it was a tough day, and we had a chance. With a field like this, you can’t afford to make many mistakes. However, I do think we played well all week and to finish among the final nine teams in the nation is a serious accomplishment.”
In addition to having the program’s best finish since 2009, the Razorbacks have tallied seven top 15 finishes since that runner-up finish.
Fernandez de Oliveira, who started on hole 10, began the day in fifth place and climbed to third on several occasions but could not break through. Despite a bogey to begin round four and bogeys on his eighth and ninth holes, he carded three birdies to make the turn at even par and tied for third. He was even through 14 holes with a bogey on his 13th hole (the par-4, 3rd) and a birdie on his 14th (the par-5, 4th). Fernandez de Oliveira then had back-to-back bogeys on his 16th and 17th holes to finish at 2-over to the day and the championship (71-71-68-72=282).
Overall, he tied for the lead in the field by playing the par 5’s at -4 for the Championship.
Perico’s 25th-place (tied) finish was his best career at the NCAA, placing 34th (tied) before missing the 54-hole cut as a freshman while finishing 44th (tied) last season. He fired a 2-over 72 in the final round and moved up seven places with a 72-hole total at 8-over, 288 (74-70-72-72).
Oliva Pinto also tied for 25th at +8 (71-70-73-74). He led the field with 55 pars over 72 holes and helped the Razorbacks finish third in the field with 226 pars over four rounds.
Luke Long finished 75th (78-79-73-75=305 / +25) and Wil Gibson finished 77th (79-75-79-79=312 / +32).
2022 NCAA Championship
Results Thru Final Rd Stroke Play (Top 8 Advance to Match Play)
Par: 70 || Yards: 7,289
Team Standings:
T1 #3 Vanderbilt 282 282 281 289 1134 +14
T1 #1 Oklahoma 287 275 277 295 1134 +14
T1 #5 North Carolina 288 281 280 285 1134 +14
4 #7 Texas 291 291 278 277 1137 +17
5 #2 Oklahoma State 289 277 277 298 1141 +21
6 #6 Pepperdine 294 282 277 293 1146 +26
7 #4 Arizona State 290 292 277 289 1148 +28
8 #8 Texas Tech 297 287 285 284 1153 +33
9 #14 Arkansas 294 286 286 293 1159 +39
T10 #17 Auburn 285 296 288 291 1160 +40
T10 #10 Florida 300 285 286 289 1160 +40
T12 #15 Georgia 291 292 289 299 1171 +51
T12 #11 Georgia Tech 298 289 290 294 1171 +51
14 #23 Ole Miss 297 287 293 300 1177 +57
15 #27 Oregon 285 300 291 306 1182 +62
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
