BLAINE, WA â€" Brian Richey was the first player to tee off the back nine early in the morning, and part of the fifth group overall that began the third round of the NCAA Division II National Finals. Then, just as he had to on Wednesday, the Moccasin senior waited a long time to see exactly how his day would end. Eventually, his three-over par 74 was enough to move him up to 26th in the standings going into Friday’s final round.
Richey jumped 10 places on Thursday and is still chasing Gene Webster of Cal State-San Bernardino. He shot even par over the first six holes, and was one-over going into the final three, before a pair of bogeys caused him to finish with a 74. He had two birdies in the round and both came on the two longest holes on the course. At the end of his round, Richey was tied for 48th, but just as he did a day earlier, he again made a dramatic climb while the other golfers played catch-up. He moved up 26 spots in that fashion on Wednesday, and 22 spots on Thursday.
Richey’s 3-day total now stands at 224, putting him 11 shots behind Webster, who is the only golfer in the 108-player field shooting even par for the tournament.
Webster had gone into round three tied with Steve Cuzzort of Wayne State (MI) and was in the final group of the day. Cuzzort was nearly finished by the time Webster got on the course, and it wasn’t a good finish either. Still tied with Webster with three holes remaining, the senior transfer from Michigan State had a double bogey on 16 and 17 before ending with a birdie on 18 that allowed Webster to move into sole possession of first place and he held it the rest of the day.
Webster shot even par on each of his first nine holes before shooting one-over on the back nine to finish with a 72. It was a far cry from his seven birdies in round two, but he also went from six bogeys or doubles to only two on Thursday. The junior now has a 2-stroke lead over Cuzzort and Gavin Smith of Indiana (PA). Chris Carlin of Barry and Kelbi Lee of Ferris State (MI) are each four strokes behind and no one else is closer than six.
Smith has put himself in position to possibly win after starting the tournament with a 76. Since then, he’s the only golfer in the field with two rounds under par, a 69 on Wednesday and a 70 on Thursday. Lee, meanwhile, had a 68 on Thursday to equal the best round of the tournament. That allowed him to move up all the way from 29th place.
In the team standings, Cal State-San Bernardino has opened up an 8-stroke lead over Barry, and a 9-stroke lead over both Sonoma State and Columbus State. The Coyotes had been trailing Barry by one stroke, but counted only one score worse than a 73, while the Buccaneers were forced to count three 77’s.
The final round begins Friday morning at 7:30 Pacific time, with Richey starting his round at noon.
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