Billy Tom Sargent

Western Kentucky’s Billy Tom Sargent improved by five strokes in Tuesday’s second round at the NCAA Kissimmee (Fla.) Regional, firing a 1-over 73 at the Reunion Resort Watson Course.

Sargent, a redshirt junior from Georgetown, is tied for 65th place with a two-day total of 151 (78-73). He’ll tee off in the final round Wednesday morning.

“Today I started solid with a couple of pars and then had a couple of three-putts for bogey that set me back,” Sargent said in a news release. “I hit the ball well all day, but my putting was terrible. I couldn’t figure out the speeds of the greens and the grain was difficult to judge. Overall it was a battle today, and I know what I need to do for tomorrow’s round.” 

Sargent tallied three birdies against four bogeys Tuesday and finished with a 1-under 35 on the back nine. He’s played the back nine at even par across the first two rounds.

His second-round 73 ties for the sixth-best, single-round score carded by a Hilltopper in a NCAA Regional, and his 151 total over 36 holes is tied for the fourth-best for a WKU participant. 

Tuesday’s 73 also tied for the best round of the day among the players competing as individuals in the event.

“BT played very solid from tee to green today but did not have his best putting round,” WKU coach Phillip Hatchett said. “His 1-over 73 finish moved him up three spots but is still not indicative of how he hit the ball. He gave himself some good looks from 10-20 feet but only made a couple. A player who makes a couple early in the round gets the momentum of the round going. Those couple just never fell for him today despite hitting good putts. 

“As frustrating as the last two rounds have been for him, his attitude and mannerisms have been totally professional. Looking forward to tomorrow, his last round is typically his best round averaging around 69. Tomorrow is a brand new day, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take it deep to finish off the season.”