MGOLF Finishes 14th at the NCAA Championship

Monday, May 27

Carlsbad, Calif.

Baylor

NCAA Championships

Johnny and McGraw at the NCAA Championship

MGOLF Finishes 14th at the NCAA Championship

5/27/2024 9:38:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Round Stats

The Bears’ finish marks the third-best NCAA showing in school history

By: Matt Roberts

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Baylor men's golf shot a 37-over 1,189 to notch a 14^th-place finish at the NCAA Championship on Monday at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.

Johnny Keefer closed his record-setting career with yet another program mark. With his even-par 288, he tied for 11th, becoming the highest-finishing Baylor player in NCAA Championship history. He also put the finishing touches on the lowest career-stroke average in program history at 71.45, besting Jimmy Walker's record of 71.55. Georgia Tech's Hiroshi Tai took home the individual national championship with a 3-under 285.

Baylor's 14^th-place finish at the NCAA Championship is its best since 2017 and the third-best championship finish in program history. The Bears finished 12 shots behind Georgia Tech, who grabbed the eighth and final spot in match play with a 25-over 1,177. The Rambling Wreck were joined by Ohio State, Auburn, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia, Vanderbilt and Illinois as the eight teams set to square off in match play over the next two days.

THE RUNDOWN
After just missing a birdie at No. 10, Keefer lipped out an eagle putt on No. 11 but cleaned it up for his first birdie of the day. Two bogeys befell the senior at Nos. 13 and 14 as he turned with a 1-over 37. A third bogey at No. 2 dropped him back to 2-over on the day, but he was able to pick up a shot with a birdie at No. 7, the second-hardest hole this week.

Tyler Isenhart shot a 1-over 73 in the final round to record a tie for 42^nd. One of the steadiest players in the lineup this spring, Isenhart continued that on Monday with an even-par opening nine, dotted with a birdie at No. 10 and a bogey at No. 12. He dipped back into red numbers with a birdie at No. 1 before dropping a pair of shots down the stretch at Nos. 3 and 7.

Zach Heffernan closed his week with a 4-over 76 and a tie for 53^rd. After playing his first five holes at 4-over, the junior settled in with five-straight pars and an eagle at No. 2, his second of the week. He followed his eagle with a bogey at No. 3 and added one more at No. 8, part of an even-par 36 on his second nine.

Davis Ovard finished his NCAA Championship debut with a 7-over 79 and a tie for 76^th. The freshman went out with a 4-over 40 with bogeys at Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 17. He carded a double-bogey at No. 1 and a bogey at No. 2 but rolled in his first birdie of the day at No. 4. Ovard dropped a final shot with a bogey at No. 7.

Jonas Appel finished 81^st after a 10-over 82 in his final round at the NCAA Championship. The sophomore went out with a 6-over 42 on his opening nine. He improved by two shots on his second nine with a 4-over 40, including a birdie at No. 6.

HIGHLIGHTS

BU notched its third-highest NCAA Championship finish in program history (t-7^th in 2017 and t-9^th in 1960).
Baylor's 228 pars this week tied for the fourth-most in the field.
The Bears' three eagles were the most by any team this week.
With his tie for 11^th, Johnny Keefer now holds the highest finish by a Baylor individual in the NCAA Championship.
Keefer now holds Baylor's career stroke-average record with his 71.45 average across 141 rounds.
Keefer finished his career with the seventh-most rounds played (141), the seventh-most top-5s (10) and the fourth-most top-10s (19).
Tyler Isenhart's 51 pars tied for the fourth-most across four rounds.
Isenhart's career stroke average of 73.05 ranks as the 12^th-best in program history.
Zach Heffernan's two eagles tied for the most by any player in the field, while his 4.56 par-5 scoring average tied for the second-best mark this week.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mike McGraw on his team's finish— "Two months ago, nobody would've given us a chance to be playing on the last day of the National Championship. Nobody would have. I still believed that we had a team that could do it. You saw the guys just get better and better. Guys like Tyler Isenhart were just steady the rest of the season. Zach Heffernan played amazing in the spring. Johnny, who, I mean, he's one of the best players Baylor has ever had in the history of the program, just got better and better in the postseason. I couldn't be more proud. It wasn't the result we wanted today, but it doesn't always happen. It doesn't always fall your way in golf or life or anything. I think our guys understand that, and I think the tears they were shedding right now says a lot about how much they love each other."

Head Coach Mike McGraw on Johnny Keefer's career — "If you think about it. I remember seeing him when he was 13, he was 5-foot-4, 100-and-nothing, a little guy. I was thinking he had something, I didn't know what it was. It looked good. He committed to me. I knew the moment that I got the commitment he was going to be a special player. You can't fault him for anything he's done. All he did was make a 3.8 in accounting and all he did was work hard every day. All he did was treat his body the right way, ate the right foods and was a great teammate. It's probably hard to find fault with him, but that whole class of 2019, Tyler, Luke Dossey, Johnny, and then Scout McNealy, who graduated two years ago but was an unbelievable addition to that class. It's a wonderful class of guys, and I hate to see them go, but I know they're excited and ready for a professional career, and I wish them the best. They gave everything they had to Baylor."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears' season has come to a close, and they will open the 2024-25 season in September. For more information on Baylor Men's Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on X, Instagram and Facebook.

—BaylorBears.com—