UA men’s best round not enough

The No. 31 Arkansas Razorbacks shot their best round of the week Wednesday at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, but it was not enough to advance to the NCAA championships.

The Razorbacks carded a 5-over 293 at the University Club course on the LSU campus, but they settled for eighth place with a 29-over 893 three-day total, falling 10 shots shy of advancing.

No. 6 LSU, paced by medalist Sam Burns, won as the regional host with a 2-over 866 for the 54-hole tournament. No. 19 Duke placed second at 9 over, followed by No. 18 Virginia (14 over) and No. 7 Oregon (15 over).

Jacksonville (19 over) won a sudden-death playoff against Northwestern on the second hole for the fifth qualifying spot. The top-five teams from six NCAA regionals advance to the NCAA championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., starting May 26.

The Razorbacks, teeing off at No. 10 for the third consecutive day, started well behind freshman Mason Overstreet and junior Alvaro Ortiz and were 5 under at one point on the back nine.

Overstreet carded a 5-under 67 on Wednesday, tied for the second-best round at the regional, and finished at 2 over and in sole possession of sixth place for the tournament. He will move on to the NCAAs as an individual as the lowest-scoring player on a non-advancing team.

Ortiz finished at 2-over 74 for the second consecutive day and tied at 24th at 8 over. Sophomore Charles Kim and freshmen Luis Garza and William Buhl all carded 4-over 76 on Wednesday. Kim tied for 32nd overall at 9 over, while Garza tied for 35th (10 over) and Buhl tied for 58th (18 over).

Burns had his worst round of the week with a 3-over 75, but he finished at 4 under for the tournament to hold off Oregon’s Wyndham Clark by one shot for medalist honors. LSU’s Luis Gagne, and Duke’s Alex Smalley and Chandler Eaton tied for third place at even par 216, two strokes ahead of Overstreet.