Arkansas made a late birdie run to post an even-par team total of 288 and sole possession of fourth place in the first round of the NCAA Columbia (Mo.) Regional.
Taylor Moore, Kolton Crawford and Nicolas Echavarria combined for four birdies on the final two holes to lead the surge for fourth-seeded Arkansas, which started on the back nine at The Club at Old Hawthorne.
The Razorbacks are 16 shots behind Oklahoma State, the regional's top seed, which opened with a 16 under. The Cowboys are nine strokes ahead of host Missouri, the region's eighth seed.
The low five teams from each of six regions will make the NCAA Championship, which will be held at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., on May 23-28.
Second-seeded Virginia is third at 3-under 285 and third-seeded LSU is fifth after a 1-over 289.
Moore , a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., bogeyed his first two holes, Nos. 10 and 11, but played the rest of his round at 3 under, including birdies on Nos. 13, 17, 8 and 9. Moore was tied for 10th with a 1-under 71.
Oklahoma State's Jordan Niebrugge, winner's of last summer's Western Amateur at the Alotian Club in Roland, shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 to lead the field by two strokes over teammate Talor Gooch.
Arkansas sophomores Crawford and Echavarria shot even-par 72 to tie for 12th place, each posting four birdies and four bogeys on the 7,221-yard layout.
Arkansas senior Sebastian Cappelen shot a 1-over 73 after making the turn at 1 under. Cappelen, who is tied for 23rd, bogeyed Nos. 1 and 2 on his back nine, then played even par the rest of the round. Freshman Zach Coats shot 5-over 77, and his score was not used to compile Arkansas' team total.
University of Central Arkansas junior Pep Angles, the nation's 36th-ranked player, shot a 3-over 75 and is tied for 40th place.
Angles, who is playing in his second consecutive NCAA regional, opened with birdies in two of his first four holes and made the turn at 1 under before going 4 over on the second nine to finish at 3 over.
The Barcelona native is a two-time Southland Conference Golfer of the Year.
Sports on 05/16/2014