Monday, May 13
Chapel Hill, N.C.
All Day
Ball State University
vs
NCAA Chapel Hill Regional
Photo by: Collin Phillips/Ball State Athletics
Ali Khan's 1-under 69 Leads Cardinal Golfers in Final Round of Chapel Hill Regional
May 15, 2024 | Men's Golf
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Ali Khan (72-70-69---211) shot 16 holes of par or better and fired a 1-under-par 69 to lead the Ball State men's golf team in the final round of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional on Wednesday. The Cardinals, a No. 12 seed who momentarily led the field late in the first round and were tied for second at the end of Round 1, finished tied for 10th out of 13 teams as the nationally ranked competition took control.
Ball State (273-288-288-849) jostled with Michigan State and Northwestern throughout the final round. But Braxton Kuntz (62-72-74---208), birdied the par-3 15th hole to spark a Cardinals surge on the final holes. Ball State golfers recorded five more birdies over the final three holes and finally settled into a tie the No. 11-seed Spartans (849) and seven strokes ahead of the Big Ten champion and fifth-seeded Wildcats (856).
"We fought to the very end today and just didn't have enough fall into place earlier in the round. But I'm so proud of this group," said 26th-year Ball State head coach Mike Fleck. "They know that we belong on this stage and can compete with the best teams in the country. They came down here with a great mindset and competitive edge. These guys once again proved that we are capable of doing even greater things moving forward."
Kuntz, who keyed the Cardinals' record-breaking first round with the best opening round in NCAA competition since at least 1998, finished tied in 21st place to lead Ball State individuals. Khan shot par or better in each of the final two rounds to finish in 32nd place, three strokes behind Kuntz.
The Cardinals, who played without a senior in their lineup, were dubbed by Golfweek as a "possible Cinderella" after a record-smashing first round that included the best team and individual score in the program's NCAA Championship history. Kuntz' first-round tied as the best single round in Cardinals' history and the team's first round score was fourth in school history.
But neither Kuntz nor the Cardinals were able to sustain that pace over the course of three rounds that were accelerated to include nearly a full second-round before darkness on Monday, and followed by a virtual washout due to heavy rain on Tuesday. Ball State entered Wednesday's final round in ninth place behind the play of Kuntz, Khan and freshman Alec Cesare (68-70-76---214).
"What a productive, challenging and beneficial week for our program," added Fleck. "We got a true taste of what the NCAA postseason feels like and we will take these experiences with us into next year with the goal being to get right back in this thing."
Ball State Individual Results, Final
No. 4 Braxton Kuntz (208): 31-31—62 | 37-35—72 | 37-37—74 (-2, 21st)
No. 3 Ali Khan (211): 37-35—72 | 34-36—70 | 35-34—69 (+1, 32nd)
No. 5 Alec Cesare (214): 32-36—68 | 36-34—70 | 41-35—76 (+4, 47th)
No. 2 Kash Bellar (219): 37-34—71 | 40-36—76 | 38-34—72 (+9, 61st)
No. 1 Carter Smith (225): 37-39—76 | 37-39—76 | 38-35—73 (+16, 66th)
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Ball State (273-288-288-849) jostled with Michigan State and Northwestern throughout the final round. But Braxton Kuntz (62-72-74---208), birdied the par-3 15th hole to spark a Cardinals surge on the final holes. Ball State golfers recorded five more birdies over the final three holes and finally settled into a tie the No. 11-seed Spartans (849) and seven strokes ahead of the Big Ten champion and fifth-seeded Wildcats (856).
"We fought to the very end today and just didn't have enough fall into place earlier in the round. But I'm so proud of this group," said 26th-year Ball State head coach Mike Fleck. "They know that we belong on this stage and can compete with the best teams in the country. They came down here with a great mindset and competitive edge. These guys once again proved that we are capable of doing even greater things moving forward."
Kuntz, who keyed the Cardinals' record-breaking first round with the best opening round in NCAA competition since at least 1998, finished tied in 21st place to lead Ball State individuals. Khan shot par or better in each of the final two rounds to finish in 32nd place, three strokes behind Kuntz.
The Cardinals, who played without a senior in their lineup, were dubbed by Golfweek as a "possible Cinderella" after a record-smashing first round that included the best team and individual score in the program's NCAA Championship history. Kuntz' first-round tied as the best single round in Cardinals' history and the team's first round score was fourth in school history.
But neither Kuntz nor the Cardinals were able to sustain that pace over the course of three rounds that were accelerated to include nearly a full second-round before darkness on Monday, and followed by a virtual washout due to heavy rain on Tuesday. Ball State entered Wednesday's final round in ninth place behind the play of Kuntz, Khan and freshman Alec Cesare (68-70-76---214).
"What a productive, challenging and beneficial week for our program," added Fleck. "We got a true taste of what the NCAA postseason feels like and we will take these experiences with us into next year with the goal being to get right back in this thing."
Ball State Individual Results, Final
No. 4 Braxton Kuntz (208): 31-31—62 | 37-35—72 | 37-37—74 (-2, 21st)
No. 3 Ali Khan (211): 37-35—72 | 34-36—70 | 35-34—69 (+1, 32nd)
No. 5 Alec Cesare (214): 32-36—68 | 36-34—70 | 41-35—76 (+4, 47th)
No. 2 Kash Bellar (219): 37-34—71 | 40-36—76 | 38-34—72 (+9, 61st)
No. 1 Carter Smith (225): 37-39—76 | 37-39—76 | 38-35—73 (+16, 66th)
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