Ball State University Athletics
Clouser, Watts Top 2 after MAC Third Round
May 03, 2015 | Men's Golf
LEADERBOARD
CHARDON, Ohio -- The Ball State men's golf team will enter Sunday's final round at the Mid-American Conference Championships contending for both team and individual titles.
McCormick Clouser carded a 1-under par 71 in Saturday's third round to remain atop the leaderboard, while teammate Johnny Watts fired the round of the tournament to move into second place.
Watts' 5-under par 67 was not only the best of his freshman season but also one shy of the best score ever posted in championship competition on the Sand Ridge Campus of the Mayfield Sand Ridge Club. It was the best round of the tournament to this point by two shots.
Ball State remained in third place on the team leaderboard. The Cardinals also counted a 78 from Michael VanDeventer and an 80 from Michael Makris on the way to a team score of 296 for the day.
At 881 (+17) over the first three rounds, the Cardinals trail only Miami (+6) and Toledo (+14). Those three teams will play together in the final wave of tee times Sunday.
Clouser is 5 under for the tournament, while Watts is 2 under after climbing 12 spots up the leaderboard Saturday. The only other player in red figures is Toledo's Chris Selfridge at 1 under. VanDeventer is tied for 18th to give the Cardinals three in the top 20.
Watts was bogey-free on his round until the 17th hole. The Fishers, Ind., product was as low as 6 under for the day following three consecutive birdies on holes 13, 14 and 15. His 67 came within one stroke of the best MAC Championships round ever by a Ball State player (Bill Pollert's 66 in 2001).
Clouser, the only Ball State player with previous conference tournament experience, was steady with three birdies and two bogeys. A birdie on the 18th hole put the Bluffton, Ind., product under par for the third straight round.
Ball State really had things going into the middle of the back nine Saturday, pulling within a few strokes of the top spot before leaking some shots down the stretch to finish 11 shots back.
The Cardinals will begin their final round at 12:40 p.m. Sunday when Tyler Ostrom goes off the first tee. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
