One day after problems controlling his driver led to an opening round 76 in the NCAA Regional at Stanford, Port Neches-Groves ex Braden Bailey rebounded with a six-under-par 64 to help Baylor zoom past Tiger Woods’ old school and into first place at the 36-hole mark in Palo Alto, Calif.
Bailey, whose score didn’t even count toward Baylor’s team score on Monday, rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt on Tuesday’s first hole and added five birdies before at bogey at the 18th. The 64 was his best ever competitive round.
With three other Baylor players shooting between 66 and 68, the Bears were collectively 15-under-par. They went from four shots behind Stanford after round one to a seven stroke lead at 18-under. Pepperdine is third at minus-5 and Oklahoma is fourth at minus-3.
The top five schools in the 13-team regional, after Wednesday’s final 18 holes, advance to the NCAA championships outside Chicago in two weeks.
Bailey, who was 61st among all players after day one, moved up 44 places into a tie for 17th. His 64 tied Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke for the second lowest round of the day. Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schneiderjans, after also opening with a 76, came back with a scorching 62.
It has been a productive seven days for Bailey. Last Tuesday, he tied three other players at 68 for the low round in a U.S. Open local qualifier at Wolfdancer Golf Club in Bastrop. That punched him a ticket into a 36-hole sectional qualifier on June 5 at a site yet to be determined.