After its five golfers played 54 holes this weekend in the NCAA Championship, Wake Forest came up one stroke short from advancing after a tough finish late Sunday afternoon at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
Meanwhile, 12th-ranked North Carolina, which entered the day tied with No. 8 Wake, posted 1-under 287 to move up into a tie for 14th at 10-over 874, and advance to Monday’s final round of stroke play. Northwestern grabbed the 15th and final spot at 876, one better than Wake.
Wake’s 877 total tied LSU for 16th. Macy Pate was tied for 28th after 54 holes at even-par to join a playoff as one of the top nine players on a team that did not make the cut for Monday.
After Monday’s round, the top eight teams qualify for match play. At 21-under, Stanford leads Southern Cal by five strokes.
Rianne Malixi’s 68 led 10th-ranked Duke, which advanced with a tie for seventh at 866. Malixi is tied for eighth in the medalist race at 6-under, four off the lead. Florida and Arizona State are tied with Duke for the last two match-play spots.
The Demon Deacons produced a consistent, if unspectacular round. Pate and Chutiman Rujiranan shot 72 and Morgan Ketchum and Anne-Sterre Den Dunnen fired 73 as the team posted 2-over 290 in the third round. Chloe Kovelesky’s non-counting round was 73.
But Wake played its last three holes — the Deacons, Tar Heels and Wildcats each finished on Nos. 7, 8 and 9 — in 4-over. Den Dunnen bogeyed No. 7 and double-bogeyed 8. Northwestern also played its final three holes in 1-over. UNC shot 3-over over the stretch to hold on despite Megan Streicher’s triple-bogey on 7 that kept her card from counting.