Men's Golf 5/10/2024 3:45:00 PM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Climb To Third At Regional Championships

UCO Heads Into Final Round Five Shots Back

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma jumped three spots in the second round of the NCAA Central/Midwest Regional Championships at KickingBird Golf Club Friday with the Bronchos heading into the final round in third place.

UCO posted the second low team score of the day with a 6-under-par 274, moving up from sixth place to third in the 20-team field.

The top five teams following tomorrow's final round advance to the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championships in Orlando, Florida May 21-25. There are six teams under par in the field fighting for the five advancing spots.

Harding continued to lead the field and is 9-under through 36 holes with a team score of 551. Grand Valley State is 7-under at 553 in front of Central Oklahoma. Ferris State, Henderson State, and Missouri S&T are all one shot back of Central and tied for fourth place at 3-under-par 557.

Friday, the Bronchos had a strong showing to bolster their standing.

Jordan Wilson and Kyle Hickey both shot 2-under-par 68s on the day, and Bennett Baldwin and Nick Canales both fired 1-under-par 69s to lead the way. Baylor Bostick also carded a 4-over-par 74 on Friday.

The Bronchos had the earliest of tee times with Hickey getting started at 7:30 a.m. Friday. All 100-plus players started on No. 10 and Hickey started it off with a par on the 412-yard Par 4. The senior from Rochester, Minnesota made a bogey on No. 11 but responded with three birdies on the next four holes to get to 2-under. A bogey on 18 had him at 1-under turning back to the front nine.

There, Hickey sank his fourth birdie of the day on the 464-yard Par 4 first hole before putting in eight consecutive pars to close the day at 2-under. It's the third round in the 60s this season for Hickey, who posted a 68 at Rose Creek earlier this Spring in addition to a 69 back in the fall season opener.

Bostick was next off the tee at 7:42 a.m. and he started his day with three bogeys on the first four holes. After shooting even-par 70 on Thursday, the freshman from Duncan posted a 4-over 74 on Friday. His three bogeys on the back nine paired with six par putts for a 3-over. Then he had three more bogeys on the front nine. However, Bostick did birdie the Par 3 third and Par 3 sixth to play the front nine 1-over for the day.

Canales went off third for the Bronchos on Friday and put together a clinic at KickingBird. The redshirt freshman from La Porte, Texas started the day with 12 consecutive pars on holes 10-3. Then he sank a birdie putt on the 525-yard Par 5 fourth hole and again on the 485-yard Par 4 fifth to get to 2-under par. Canales dropped in three more par putts before a bogey on No. 9 to finish his day 1-under.

Baldwin, a junior from Stillwater, Oklahoma, who led Central Oklahoma on Thursday, did so again on Friday. He started his day with four straight pars before sinking a birdie on the Par 3 14th. Baldwin added four more par putts to finish the back nine 1-under.

The front went a similar way.

Baldwin started with three straight par putts before sinking a birdie on No. 4. He parred No. 5 before his only blemish of the day came with a bogey on No. 6. But Baldwin closed out his day with three more par putts to finish the front nine even-par and 1-under for the round.

Wilson was the last off the 10th tee box for Central on Friday and the junior from Edmond started the day with back-to-back bogeys before settling into a groove after that. Wilson circled No. 12 and No. 14 to get back to even par, then finished out the back nine that way.

On the front nine, he started with two pars, then birdied Nos. 3 & 4 to get to 2-under. A bogey on No. 6 was countered with another birdie on No. 7, and then Wilson finished off the day with two more par putts to wrap it up a 2-under.

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Players Mentioned

Bennett Baldwin: Junior

Kyle Hickey: Senior

Baylor Bostick: 6' 4"; Freshman

Nick Canales: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

Jordan Wilson: 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Bennett Baldwin
: Junior

Kyle Hickey
: Senior

Baylor Bostick
: 6' 4"; Freshman

Nick Canales
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

Jordan Wilson
: 5' 8"; Junior