Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Big 12 Conference Championships
Ward Leads at Big 12 Championships
April 23, 2010 | Men's Golf
April 23, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - Chris Ward fired a 7-under 65 in the second round Friday afternoon to take the individual lead at the Big 12 Conference Championships at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. Texas Tech sits in fourth place, six shots off of the lead, entering Saturday's third round of the 72-hole event.
Ward's error-free play in the second round, which included seven birdies, actually began on the ninth hole in the opening round Friday morning. Sitting at 1-over after eight holes, Ward birdied the par-4 ninth and followed with a birdie at No. 14 and an eagle at the par-5 17th. He finished the first round at 3-under.
"Chris played fantastic today," Tech Head Coach Greg Sands said. "He's striking the ball well and started making putts in second round. It was one of those rounds where everything was going in."
The Red Raiders found themselves in 11th place after the front nine during the morning round, but rallied and shot 4-under on the back to close out the morning tied in fourth place. Ward's efforts, along with those of junior Matt Smith, in the afternoon helped the Red Raiders maintain that fourth-place standing at the end of the day. Smith fired a 2-under 70 in the second round and is currently tied in 25th place.
Nils Floren is tied in 16th place after dropping 10 spots from the morning session. Floren carded rounds of 70-76. Tyler Weworski and Brian Scherer are in 44th place and tied in 45th place, respectively. Weworski turned in rounds of 76-75, while Scherer followed an opening-round 72 with an 80.
"We got off to sloppy start," Sands said of Tech's 4-over performance in opening nine. " We would be in contention or close if we had started better. All-in-all, with 36 holes to go, six shots back is not a big deal. We need to keep doing what we're doing and get off to a better start. We didn't emotionally handle things well at times. We need to be more even keeled tomorrow."
Texas A&M, the defending national champions, is tied atop the team standings with Oklahoma State at 11-under. The Aggies bolstered their standing with the team low-round of the day at 280 in the first. Texas is in third place at -10, while Tech is five shot back. Kansas State is fifth at 3-under and Baylor sixth at 1-under. Colorado (+8), Nebraska (+9), Oklahoma (+13) and Kansas (+17) are seventh through 10th, while Iowa State (+18) and Missouri (+22) round out the field.
Third-round play gets underway Saturday morning followed by the final round Sunday. Live scoring will be available throughout the event at www.golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
