PULLMAN, Wash. – University of San Francisco men's golfer
Tim Widing was locked in at the second day of the NCAA Pullman Regional shooting a 5-uner 65. Widing climbed seven spots on the leaderboard and is currently for second with an 8-under 132 (67-65). Widing carded seven birdies and an eagle in an electric second round.
The tournament's individual leader is Oklahoma's Blaine Hale who after 36 holes is 10-under 130 (68-62). Widing is tied with BYU's Rhett Rasmussen and UC Santa Barbara's Zach Smith. Widing and Smith are the top individuals after two rounds.
"What a round!" said head coach
Jack Kennedy. "Tim was dialed in and confident from the get go. He knew it was close yesterday and the hole would open up today. He is in great position to win tomorrow. He has done a great job of enjoying the moment all week and tomorrow will be no different."
The Dons' junior who is competing opened the round with five-straight birdies. Bogey's on six and eight were the only blemishes of the front-9. He went into the turn 3-under.
After the bogey on eight, Widing got back on track with five-straight pars before heating up again. A birdie on 14 preceded an eagle on 15. For the second consecutive day, Widing drove the green again, this time leaving himself with a 10 foot putt for the eagle. After a double-bogey on 17 he responded with another birdie on 18, this one thanks to a 20 foot putt from below the pin.
The last time Widing finished with back-to-back rounds under 70 came in the second and third round of the Visit Stockton Invite when he carded a 66 and 69 to finish the tournament strong.
"It felt very good out there yesterday so I told myself to keep being aggressive and trust my iron and wedge game," said Widing. "I got of to a hot start with five-straight birdies and the difference today was that I made some key putts early in the round which obviously gave me a lot of confidence going forward. Mid round I kept playing solid, hit some great shots and made two important saves for par on 12 and 13 which got me a little pumped up for my drives on 14 and 15 that resulted in a birdie and an eagle. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's round being in contention and have a chance to win this, not only for me, but also for my teammates cheering me on back in SF."
Widing will tee off tomorrow morning at 10:04 a.m. for the final round. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from the Pullman Regional will advance to the finals which take place May 24-29 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
