The Arkansas Razorbacks men's golf team maintained its record-breaking pace Tuesday, firing a 17-under 271 to keep a huge lead after the second round of the NCAA Salem (S.C.) Regional.
The University of Arkansas is at 39 under heading into today's final round of the 54-hole regional at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, the 7,126-yard venue hosted by Clemson.
The No. 35-ranked Razorbacks lead No. 11 Georgia Tech, which fired a 22-under on Tuesday, by seven strokes.
Arkansas, which broke a school record with a 22-under 266 on Monday, kept up its record breaking with all five golfers under par for the first time at an NCAA regional. The Hogs' 537 team score and its 39-under par are both two-round school records. The school-record 54-hole score of 38 under is well within reach.
"We've had some really good individual performances throughout the year, but this is obviously the best we have played as a team this year," Arkansas Coach Brad McMakin said. "It is tough to back up a record-setting performance on one day with a nearly impressive round the next time out.
"While our team score was a little lower, it was really remarkable to have all five guys shoot under par."
No. 2 North Carolina and New Mexico are tied for third at 25 under, followed by Northern Illinois (23 under). No. 14 Texas A&M, the stroke play runner-up at the SEC Championships, is in ninth place at 12 under, 11 shots behind the cut line and also trailing No. 26 Georgia Southern (18 under) and Clemson (15 under) and tied with No. 23 San Diego State.
The Razorbacks put four players in the 60s for the second consecutive day.
Senior Segundo Oliva Pinto and led the way again, firing a 6-under 67 to surge into second place of the individual standings at 12 under, a stroke behind North Carolina's Ryan Burnett.
Pinto, the SEC individual champion in 2021, posted birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 11, 15 and 16 during his bogey-free round.
Arkansas had 16 birdies on its front nine, including five each from seniors Julian Perico and Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, and 15 more on the back nine to take over the birdie lead at 57 through 36 holes.
The Razorbacks are leading the field on the par 3s (-1), and are second on the par 4s (-15) and the par 5s (-21).
Perico, the Hogs' non-counting score Monday, had seven birdies en route to a 5-under 67 to reach 2 under for the tourney. Fernandez de Oliveira carded six straight birdies on Nos. 5-10 en route to a 68. He's tied for ninth at 7 under.
Senior Wil Gibson of Jonesboro notched five birdies, including three in a row to end his round to catapult him to a 69 on the day and a tie for third place at 10 under.
Sophomore Manuel Lozada had a team-high four bogeys and a double, but he balanced that with seven birdies, matching Gibson's feat of three in a row on Nos. 16-18 and wound up at 71. He's at 6 under for the tournament and tied for 14th.