In swirling desert winds, Ostrom maintains Southwestern lead

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Notre Dame’s Hunter Ostrom shot a 2-under par 68 to maintain hislead in round three of the 104th Annual Southwestern Amateur being played in Scottsdale, Ariz.,on the Desert Mountain Club’s Cochise course. Related: Hole-in-one sparks Ostrom to Southwestern Amateur lead Ostrom (66-65-68-199) heads into Saturday’s final round holding a slim lead over Tucson’sGavin Cohen (69-67-64-200), a junior at Loyola Marymount majoring in finance. Ignacio Arcaya ofAlbuquerque, holds third place (67-66-68-201), and Christian Banke (66-66-70-202) of Danville,Calif., and AJ Ott (66-67-69-202) of Fort Collins, Colo., are tied for fourth. Windy conditions, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 90s, played a major role inFriday’s round. For Ostrom, a resident of Meridian, Idaho, it was “very much a mental game today and notso much a ball striking day. I tried to hang in there and didn’t attempt to do anything too special.” He said an eight-foot putt on #12 gave him the energy to get past the final six holes. “With the windswirling around, it made it a little tough. I tried to watch my play as best I could.” Cohen, whose father caddied for him today, tried to remain calm and patient as he startedthe round. “I hit some solid shots and stuck to my game plan. I birdied the holes I knew I could. Ijust didn’t make many mistakes,” he said, adding, “I made a 12-footer on an easy hole and it settled me down and allowed me to get into the game.” His dad also helped his focus. “He knowsmy game pretty well.” Arcaya, a sophomore at the University of New Mexico, had a consistent round but felt itwas definitely a more difficult day to play. “The wind made it hard to determine distances,” he said. “I made 14 pars today so there were a lot of par saves and I was able to capitalize on the par 5s.” “The course played a lot differently over the last two days but I stayed consistent for all 18holes,” Banke, a senior at San Diego State University, noted. “I got off to a hot start with a 2 underpar for three holes but I had a weaker finish.” While Ott, a senior at Colorado State University, made a few good putts and “drove prettywell, I did not play well today. The club selection was a little trickier and the course played a littletougher due to the wind.”