By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Baylor men’s golf tied for the second-best final-round score, but walked away empty-handed Wednesday afternoon at the Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
“We dug ourselves a deep hole with our performances in the first and third rounds,” head coach Mike McGraw said. “It was nice to finish on a good note today. We played really solid golf today.”
The green and gold’s 1-over 28 score Wednesday wasn’t enough to overcome a slow start. The team shot 40-over 1,160 on the weekend, good enough for a sixth-place finish. The University of Oklahoma took the title and was the only team to finish under par at 1-under 1,119.
All five Bears tied or set an individual best Big 12 Championship single-round score over the course of the weekend. McGraw’s quad battled harsh conditions in all four rounds but were still record personal bests.
Baylor was led by sophomore Drew Wrightson, whose 2-over 282 was good enough for sixth place individually and a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament team. His 72-hole performance is the second-best 72-hole Big 12 Tournament score in program history.
Senior Johnny Keefer finished tied for 20th, capping off the tournament with a 2-over 72 in the final round. Keefer overcame a moderate start by knocking in birdies at Nos. 11, 15 and 16 on the back nine. On the front nine, a trio of bogeys dropped Keefer’s score to par. He finished with a birdie on No. 7 and then double-bogeyed on No. 9.
Senior Tyler Isenhart’s final-round score of 2-under 68 tied the best fourth-round Big 12 Championship score in program history and the tenth-best Big 12 Championship round in program history. He finished knotted for 30th on the individual leaderboard, highlighted by birdies on hole Nos. 1 and 4 and an eagle at the par-5 seventh.
Sophomore Zach Heffernan also finished in a tie for 30th, a career-best finish at the Big 12 Tournament. Heffernan capped off the weekend shooting a 3-over 73 on Wednesday. He opened the day with a pair of bogeys but bounced back with a birdie at No. 14. Heffernan double bogeyed at No. 15 before rallying on the front nine.
Senior Luke Dossey rounded out the team’s group of five and finished 40th. Dossey carded an early birdie on No. 11 but followed that up with three straight bogeys. He finished the back nine with a pair of birdies after making the turn at even par. Dossey also bogeyed at Nos. 8 and 9 and finished his day with a 2-over 72, a personal weekend best.
The green and gold will figure out its regional destination with the NCAA men’s golf selection show, which begins at noon on Wednesday on the Golf Channel.
