Watts, Palacios Help Utes Climb Leaderboard at NCAA Championships

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Braxton Watts and Gabriel Palacios spent the day soaring up the leaderboard and helped the University of Utah men's golf team move from a tie for 25th into a tie for 20th during round two of the 2024 NCAA Men's Golf Championships, which are being held at the Omni La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.
 
"We played better today," said coach Garrett Clegg. "We were really close to having a great round. Braxton was awesome and he led us with his even par round. Gabe and Brandon had really good rounds and unfortunately, Sergio and Javier struggled today. Tomorrow we have a great opportunity to move up the leaderboard and extend our tournament."
 
Watts was on his game right from the start, beginning with a birdie on the par-4 first. Though he did card a couple of bogeys soon after, he bounced back with another birdie on the seventh and concluded the front nine even. Another red score on the 15th would help him end the round with an even par 72, good enough to move him up 36 spots and into a tie for 27th with an overall mark of 3-over.
 
Palacios accomplished a similar feat, jumping over 30 golfers to move into a tie for 67th. The freshman from Guatemala achieved that largely due to a very strong finish after a difficult first half of his round. On the back nine, he started with consecutive birdies on his way to a 1-under 35 that allowed him to enter the clubhouse at 2-over. Palacios' 36-hole score stands at 7-over.
 
Brandon Robison also did some climbing on Saturday, moving up 10 slots into a deadlock for 140th. He used four birdies to conclude his round at 3-over and 16-over for the competition. Javier Barcos and Sergio Jimenez are among those sharing 128th.
 
Utah's team score for the tournament stands at 28-over, putting them six shots back of the Stanford Cardinal, who currently own 15th. If the Utes can move into the top 15, they'll earn the chance to play on Monday, after which the tournament's top eight squads will advance to match play. The top nine individuals not on an advancing squad will also move on to Monday's round.
 
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