The University of Wisconsin Badgers may have dug themselves a hole after the opening round of the NCAA West Regional Golf Championships on Thursday, but fifth-year coach Jim Schuman’s team is in the proverbial ‘hunt’ for a prestigious berth in the NCAA National Championships.

The Badgers fired 290 on Friday — 14 strokes lower than Thursday — and moved from 17th place all the way up to 10th place with only today’s final 18 holes to play at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.
The University of Southern California leads the 27-team regional with an unbelievable 2-under-par 574 total. Schuman’s Badgers are at 594.

Only the lowest 10 teams advance to the NCAA Championships.

Oregon’s Joey Benedetti continues to set the individual pace with a 5-under 138. However, Wisconsin’s Dan Woltman is only one shot back at 139 after Saturday’s round of 68.

Other players contributing to the Badgers team score of 290 on Saturday were Tyler Obermueller at 71 for a two-day total of 145, Danny Zimmerman 77 for 151, and Jordan Elsen 74 for 165.

Senior Jeff Kaiser of Onalaska, Wis., carded 78 for a two-day total of 163, but his second-round finish was tossed out from the ream’s lowest four scores for Wisconsin.

Advertisement