With a second-round 69 on his 22nd birthday, Virginia senior Kyle Stough (74-69 – 143) jumped up the leaderboard Wednesday in the NCAA championships. Stough, a member at Argyle and a DeMatha graduate, is tied for 20th in a field of 156, eight strokes behind San Diego’s Alex Ching (69-66 – 135), headed into today’s final round of individual play at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Since playing the first four holes in 4-over-par in Tuesday’s opening round, Stough has played the last 32 in 5-under. He has the best score for the Cavaliers, who are at 4-over, tied for 11th in a field of 30 teams. Today’s third round will decide which eight teams will advance to head-to-head match play. Florida State (14-under) is in the lead.
Virginia made a huge jump from 25th place after the first round. Sophomore Henry Smart (82-66 – 148) made the most dramatic improvement, firing his best round as a collegian. The Cavaliers entered the tournament seeded No. 26. This is their third straight appearance at the NCAA championships. They finished 26th in 2008 and 27th last year.
