By: by Scott Lipsky
Final Leaderboard
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Kennesaw State sophomore Jeff Karlsson came out firing on Saturday, firing a 3-under par 67 in the final round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Southeast Region Championship at the Crabapple Club in Alpharetta, Ga., to finish at even par for the tournament in a tie for eighth. His score left him one shot short of a playoff to qualify for the national championship.
Karlsson, who had plenty of momentum coming into Saturday after a second round 68, started on the back nine and shot an even-par 35 on the front side before turning on the after burners in a late effort to get into the mix for a national bid. After playing the next six holes in two-under par, he stood at 1-over par, and while he didn’t know exactly where he stood, he had a feeling he would need a couple more birdies down the stretch to have a chance.
“I didn’t know at the time that 1-under par would get me into a playoff, but having become familiar with the course and competition over the last two rounds, it seemed logical that that was where I needed to be to have a chance,” said Karlsson. “I was playing well and was just going to score as low as I could and see how it played out.”
A clutch putt on hole number 7, his 16th of the day, put him one step closer to that goal of finishing the tournament under par. After a par on the next hole, he hit a solid drive and approach shot that left him around 20 feet for birdie, with a chance to get into the playoff. His putt would slide by the cup, leaving him with a 54-hole score of even-par 210, one shot short of his target score.
Not to be lost in Karlsson’s valiant effort was where he finished among the tournament field. His tie for eighth was just four shots off the pace set by tournament medalist Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State, who posted rounds of 68-70-68 to finish at 4-under 206.
“I’m proud of Jeff and am glad he got to experience this type of tournament play,” said Owls head coach Jay Moseley following the round. “Next year we plan on qualifying as a team, and to have at least one of our guys familiar with what it’s like to be in an NCAA Regional, that can only be beneficial for us. It’s a little disappointing that we weren’t able to get to nationals, but I think dwelling on that takes away from all of the positives we can take out Jeff’s play this week and what we got to experience.”
In addition to the top-five teams from each regional site qualifying for the national stage, which takes place at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn., beginning on June 2, the player who is not on a qualifying team that has the lowest score in the field also gains entry to the championship. Brigham Young’s Robbie Fillmore and Jonathan Randolph of Ole Miss finished the 54-hole event tied at 1-under par 209, with Fillmore winning a spot in Chattanooga on the 5th playoff hole. Team champion Oklahoma State is joined by Clemson, Georgia Tech, Arizona State and Georgia Southern as those squads that qualified as teams.
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| Jeff Karlsson talks about his final round 67 on Saturday |
Owls head coach Jay Moseley discusses Karlsson's play on Saturday and the experiencing an NCAA Regional |
