May 20, 2011
NCAA Florida Regional Results in PDF Format 
OCALA, Fla. - Senior Payne Gniewek carded a team-low 3-under 69 during Friday's second round, but Baylor men's golf slipped to a fourth-place tie after 36 holes at the NCAA Florida Regional.
After flirting with a second-round lead through seven holes, Baylor is tied with Arkansas at 6-under 570, posting its second consecutive sub-par round. Defending national championship Augusta State overpowered first-round leader Florida to take a four-stroke advantage into Saturday's final round. Host Florida and North Carolina State are tied for second place at 7-under, followed by Arkansas and Baylor. The top five teams and the low individual not on one of those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla.
"I thought we played really well Friday, continuing with our solid start from the first round," head coach Greg Priest said. "We've put ourselves in a great position after 36 holes and, if we take care of business Saturday, we should be able to move on to the NCAA Championship."
N.C. State's Mitchell Sutton is the individual leader after 36 holes at 9-under 135, one stroke ahead of second-place Philipp Westermann of Southeastern Louisiana. Gniewek is tied with three other golfers for 10th place at 4-under 140. Gniewek's 69 is the lowest NCAA Regional 18-hole score by a Baylor golfer since he carded a second-round 66 in the 2010 NCAA South Central Regional.
"Payne (Gniewek) played really well and did what seniors with experience are supposed to do," Priest said. "He had a tremendous back nine and gave us a great performance Friday."
Joining Gniewek in the top 25 after two rounds are Joakim Mikkelsen and Jerry Ruiz. After a second-round 71, Mikkelsen is tied for 17th overall at 2-under 142, while Ruiz is tied for 25th with back-to-back even-par 72s. Cody Paladino is tied for 29th at 1-over 145, while sophomore Ryan O'Rear is 58th overall at 7-over 151.
O'Rear, who carded a first-round 77, was 3-under through 11 holes after back-to-back birdies to open the back nine. However, the Salado, Texas, native closed the round with three bogeys and double-bogey to finish the day with a 74.
"We've been here before and we are probably in the best position we've ever been in entering the final round at an NCAA Regional," Priest said. "Again, if we play like we've played these first two rounds, we'll be in good shape."
The final round of the NCAA Florida Regional will be held Saturday at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club. Baylor, paired with Arkansas and Kennesaw State, will start from the No. 1 tee box beginning at 6:50 a.m. CDT. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
