Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech’s James Swash was one shot better in round two of the NCAA Norman Regional, carding a 71 (-1) on an overcast Tuesday at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
After 36 holes, the fifth-year senior is tied for 26th on the player leaderboard with 18 holes to go on Wednesday.
His second round was similar to his first round, hitting 15 of the 18 greens again while tallying 13 pars, three birdies, and two bogeys in route to a 35 on the front and a 36 on the back.
“I thought this was a really mature round out of James,” said Tech head coach Matt Terry. “He had opportunities today to go both ways. He is showing some good signs of maturity. I know he would have loved to show a couple shots better, but he has played clean golf through the first two rounds with a 72 and 71. Excited to see what is in store for him tomorrow.”
After sinking seven straight pars, including two up-and-downs on his only two missed greens (No. 4 and No. 6) on the front nine, the first birdie found the bottom of the cup on the par five No. 8.
And just like yesterday, he birdied the par three No. 12 again, dropping in a pin-high, 12-foot putt to get to -2 on the round.
Both of those birdies got erased though on two of the next five holes, arguably the hardest on the golf course. The first came on the par three No. 15 that plays 260 yards where he ended up three-putting from 40 feet for bogey.
For a second straight day, he also bogeyed the par four No. 17. After barely finding the left-side rough, a four-iron caught a bad kick with the ball settling in deep round just outside the bunker. He ended up having to make a six-footer to get out of there with just a bogey.
Swash bounced back on the closing hole, advancing to ball adjacent to a tree to a spot where he had 140 yards into the green on the par five No. 18. A smooth 9-iron landed just a foot or two from the flag and rolled back a few feet. He would come home with his third birdie to get back into the red.
