RIVERSIDE, Calif. (May 9, 2025) – After two rounds of one-under-par golf, Will Tate remains in the top half of the field at the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional Championship with one round to go.

Despite an early birdie on a par-4 on hole three, three bogeys after that on the front nine put Tate at plus-two halfway through the round on Friday.

Tate rebounded with a birdie on a par-3 on hole 11, and was one-over-par after 13 holes. He then sank an eagle putt on the par-5 hole 14 to move to one-under, where he remained for the rest of the round.

Tate avoided making any bogies during the back nine and was three-under during the back nine during round two.

"Today was pretty much the same as yesterday," said Tate. "I got off to a good, solid start, made a nice birdie on three, then hit a couple of bogeys on the remainder of the front nine. I birdied on 11, on 14 I hit a perfect drive and rolled it in for an eagle, and then I just pared my way in from there. I had a couple of chances for a birdie during the final few holes, but I didn't want to risk anything."

Tate (71-71; 142; -2) shot one-under for the second round in a row at the regional championship and is tied for 42nd place out of 108 golfers.

"Will played really well today," said Head Coach Paul Chavez. "A couple of par-3's got him early. The greens on this golf course are extremely small, and he just didn't convert, but then he made a heck of an eagle on 14. That is what we were gunning for to spark the rest of the round, but unfortunately, we could not make a couple of birdies on the way in. It was still a respectable round, and now tomorrow he really has to go for it."

Tate also leads the field of eight individuals, one stroke in front of Lubbock Christian's Hayden Bowman (76-67; 143; -1) in a tie for 54th.

The leader among all players in the tournament is St. Mary's Baptiste Touchard (63-66; 129; -15), who is also tied for the tournament lead with 13 birdies and two eagles.

In all for the tournament, Tate is 20th in par-5 scoring (4.50; -5), is 36th in par-3 scoring (3.10; +1), and is 22nd with 23 pars through two rounds.

On shooting under-par during each of the first two rounds, Tate added, "It's nice to know that my game is in a position where even when I don't have my best stuff, I can still shoot under-par. I grinded it out in both rounds really. I was more on my 'C' game. But I am still happy to post a respectable score and see my progress from last year."

Last season, Tate was UTPB's second-highest finisher at the regional, placing 42nd overall at plus-six (219) and shooting his best round during round three (72; +1).

During round three on Saturday, the top-three individuals in the field will be paired together, putting Tate with Bowman and Texas A&M International's Juan Monckeberg (74-71; 145; +1), who is tied for 73rd.

Tate looks to move up the leaderboard in tomorrow's final round from Riverside, California.