Razorback golfers finish 18th at NCAA Championship
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Arkansas started the day tied for 20th, worked its way into the coveted 15th spot with a handful of holes to play before ultimately finishing 18th (870/+30) at the 2023 NCAA Golf Championships, played at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Arkansas started the day tied for 20th, worked its way into the coveted 15th spot with a handful of holes to play before ultimately finishing 18th (870/+30) at the 2023 NCAA Golf Championships, played at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course.
Arkansas recorded its 22nd top-20 finish at the NCAA Championship — ninth under coach Brad McMakin — and its third straight. In fact, Arkansas was one of just 13 teams that reached the national finals at Grayhawk in each of the last three years.
The Razorbacks had a solid final round, shooting 288 thanks to a bogey-free, 3-under-par 67 by Segundo Oliva Pinto. In fact, Oliva Pinto rocketed 60 spots up the leaderboard on the final day to tie for 55th, just two shot shy of the cut to play a fourth day as an individual.
Arkansas started on the 10th hole and was paired with Oklahoma (19th after 36 holes) and Ohio State (tied with Arkansas for 20th) in the final round. Ohio State shot a 4-over-par 284 to climb into a 15th-place tie with Texas Tech at +26. OU was at +27, followed by Arkansas at +30. The Razorbacks were 20th after nine holes and made it in the top 15 after a birdie by Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira on hole 2 (his 11th hole), bridies by Julian Perico, Segundo Oliva Pinto and Wil Gibson on No. 4 (their 13th hole) and another birdie by Perico on No. 5 (his 14th hole).
“It was a great week and I am super proud of our players,” McMakin said. “They fought really hard and got among the top 15 with four or five holes to play. We just could not overcome the hole we put ourselves in.
“These seniors have been great ambassadors for our program. It was a great accomplishment to be just one of 13 teams to get here each of the last three years. Then you consider we finished in the top 18 all three years. We also won an SEC team title and Segundo was SEC individual champion. They have just meant so much to the program. They are great kids, they all graduated, they helped us recruiting and they have played unbelievably well. They will be hard to replace, and I am really going to miss them.”
Oliva Pinto’s 67 ties Wil Gibson’s 67 from round one as the fourth-best, single-round by a Razorback at the NCAA Championship. Gibson bounced back from a 79 in round two to shoot 73 on Sunday with 14 pars, a birdie, two bogeys and a double. He finished tied for 74th (219/+9). Perico, like Gibson, also shot 73 in his final round as a Razorback and he finished tied for 94th (221/+11).
Despite the team’s season being over, Fernandez de Oliveira got to finish out his Arkansas career by playing in the fourth and final round on Memorial Day. His day started with a playoff hole early Monday morning to advance to the fourth round. Later in the day, the UofA senior shot a 1-over-par 71 to finish tied for 40th (6674-75-71-286/+6).
