Hogs ride Cook, Echavarria to 5-under round, team lead

FAYETTEVILLE - No. 12 Arkansas, led by a bogey-free 4-under round from senior Austin Cook, took advantage of drier conditions at the Blessings Golf Club on Friday to make a big move at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.

The Razorbacks shot a 5-under 283, the only team to beat par on the day, and gained a one-stroke lead over Day 1 leader Illinois, which fired a 4-over 292. Arkansas enters today’s final round with a 36-hole total of 3-under par.

“We wanted to put ourselves in this position at the beginning of the week and we’ve done it,” Cook said.

Arkansas capitalized on its superior knowledge of the course’s nuances to surge into the lead while other teams struggled with more difficult pin placements and faster greens.

“We’ve got a home-course advantage and all the guys are playing well,” Arkansas Coach Brad McMakin said. “I think we’ll go out and make a run at it tomorrow.”

Arkansas, Illinois (2 under) and defending national champion Texas (7 over) will play in the final groupings today from 8:40 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The first groups tee off at 7:30 a.m.

“All in all, the guys played unbelievable today,” McMakin said. “Shot 5-under par. It doesn’t get much better than that out here. … We made a big run today.”

The run was fueled mostly by Cook and freshman Nicolas Echavarria, who had six birdies to overcome a lost ball at No. 4 that led to a double bogey.

“The first couple of holes, you’ve got to take advantage of them because if not, you can struggle at the end,” Echavarria said. “We’re comfortable where we are. We can get it tomorrow and win the tournament.”

Oklahoma State (+14) and Kent State (+15) are in the fourth and fifth spots, with Tulsa (+19), No. 21 SMU (+19), North Carolina-Wilmington (+25) and Colorado (+26) in striking distance. The top five teams advance to the NCAA championships later this month in Atlanta.

Cook’s 4 under featured birdies at Nos. 4, 9, 12 and 17, where his shot from the elevated tee box on the 240-yard par 3 hit a couple of feet short of the pin and bounced over the hole, leaving him a 5-footer.

“From up top the ball disappeared, but I guess it was in the shadow,” said Cook, who admitted his heart skipped a beat thinking he might have hit a hole in one.

Cook, a 5-7 senior from Jonesboro, holds a share of the lead along with Mario Clemens of SMU and Mitchell McLeroy of Stephen F. Austin, who leads the pack of individual golfers.

“I made some putts here and there,” Cook said. “For the most part, my birdies were close. I was able to hit the ball great and it led to a good score.”

Clemens, who has seven birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey through 36 holes, and McLeroy are the only golfers to shoot under par in both rounds. They are joined by Cook (72-68-140), Oklahoma State’s Ian Davis and Arkansas freshman Taylor Moore(72-72-144) as players who have shot par or better each of the rounds.

First-round leader Charlie Danielson of Illinois followed up his bogey-free 65 from Thursday with a 6-over 78 to fall into a tie for sixth place with Davis at 1 under. Danielson, a 6-5 freshman, had three triple-bogeys, including back-to-back triples at 10 and 11 before regaining a stroke with a birdie on No. 14.

Moore joined Illinois’ Brian Campbell and Texas’ Cody Gribble at even par, four strokes behind the leaders, while Arkanas senior Sebastian Cappelen is in a group of six golfers at 1 over.

The Illini fell behind Arkansas by four shots at one point and rallied to regain the lead by a stroke before dropping back to 2 under following their opening day 6 under.

“The course played tougher, the pins were tougher and we handled some adversity pretty well today,” Illinois Coach Mike Small said. “When you’re playing Arkansas on their home course, that’s a good challenge for us. … Home course is a big deal, so for us to be able to have a chance to compete with them tomorrow on their course is going to be a fun challenge for us.”

The Razorbacks and Illini did not play in the same groups the first two days.