Trojans Open Regional Play
FRANKLIN, Tennessee – The Troy men's golf team struggled to put together consistent rounds on day one of the NCAA Franklin Regional and the Trojans are in 13th place following Monday's play at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
The Trojans, who are appearing in their second straight NCAA Regional, shot a 17-over 305 in the opening round and find themselves 20 shots back of fifth place; the top five teams and top individual on a non-qualifying team advance to the NCAA Championships.
Freshman Calum Masters led the Trojans as he is tied for 46th place with a 3-over 75. Troy opened on No. 10 and Masters made the turn at 3-over par after a trio of bogeys. He moved to 2-over following a birdie on No. 2, but a double-bogey the par-5 fourth hole left him 4-over par. Masters got one stroke back on the par-5 seventh hole to close his day at 3-over.
Clayton Vannoy made the turn even after a pair of birdies and a pair of bogeys over his opening nine holes. However, double-bogeys on a pair of par-3 holes (No. 3 & No. 5) pushed his card to 4-over. Vannoy bounced back with a birdie on No.7 before a bogey on No. 9 to close out the round. He finished the day tied for 55th place with a 4-over 76.
Luke Moser, Cam Norman and Jared Bettcher are tied for 60th place after the trio fired matching rounds of 5-over 77. Moser struggled over the opening nine holes as he made the turn at 6-over, but picked up three birdies over his final six holes to end on a strong note.
Norman made the turn at 2-over with a pair of bogeys before a flurry of action over his final nine holes. He had a pair of birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey after the turn to play the front nine at 3-over.
Bettcher opened his round with a birdie and was 1-under heading into his sixth hole of the round. However, a triple-bogey on No. 15 and a double-bogey on No. 16 pushed him 4-over at the turn. Bettcher started a run of three-straight Troy birdies on No. 4 to move to 3-under, but back-to-back bogeys on the sixth and seventh pushed his card back to 5-over.
No. 2 Texas recorded four eagles on the day and shot 20-under as a team to grab the lead after 18 holes. East Carolina is 11 shots back in second place, while No. 23 Washington and No. 47 Kennesaw State are tied for third at 5-under par. No. 9 Vanderbilt and No. 26 Virginia are tied for fifth place at 3-under, while LSU, the defending national champions, is in seventh at even par.
Troy will tee off beginning at 9:50 a.m. Tuesday and the Trojans will be paired with the individual competitors in the field.
Team Standings
1. Texas 268, 2. East Carolina 279, T3. Washington 283, T3. Kennesaw State 283, T5. Vanderbilt 285, T5. Virginia 285, 7. LSU 288, T8. Houston 293, T8. UT Martin 293, 10. Georgetown 295, 11. Pepperdine 296, 12. Michigan 303, 13. Troy 305
Individual Leaders
1 Doug Ghim (Texas) 64, T2. Taylor Funk (Texas) 65, T3. Michael Perras (Houston) 65, T2. Carl Yuan (Washington) 65, 5. Patrick Cover (UNC Wilmington) 67
Troy Individuals
T46. Calum Masters 75, T55. Clayton Vannoy 76, T60. Luke Moser 77, T60. Cam Norman 77, T60. Jared Bettcher 77
Panthers Open Regional Play in 12th Place
MARANA, Ariz. – Georgia State opened the NCAA Tucson Regional in 12th place following a first round 15-over 303. Freshman Nick Budd led the Panthers with an opening round 74 at the Gallery Golf Club.
Georgia State, the No. 10 seed in the event, sits 16 strokes back of fifth which is where the Panthers will need to be after Wednesday to advance to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., later this month.
Budd’s unique round featured 16 pars and two bogeys as he stands tied for 34th with 36 holes to play.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say we were disappointed by the way we played in the first round,” head coach Joe Inman said. “However, there is still a lot of golf to play and I don’t think we are out of this just yet. We need to come out tomorrow, put up a really good round and see if we can then make a run on Wednesday.”
Senior JJ Grey opened with a 3-over 75 and is tied for 38th after making a pair of birdies.
Sophomore Alexander Herrmann added a first-round 4-over 76 and is tied for 49th. After shooting 1-under on his opening nine, he stumbled with a quadruple bogey on No. 1, his only mistake of the day.
Junior Nathan Mallonee and sophomore Max Herrmann are tied for 60th after rounds of 78. Herrmann stumbled with a pair of double bogeys, while Mallonee made a pair of triple bogeys.
No. 1 Stanford opened up a nine-stroke lead on the field following a 14-under 274 on Monday. No. 37 UAB is second at 5-under, followed by No. 24 Oregon in third at 3-under. No. 12 Wake Forest is fourth at 2-under, with No. 13 Cal at 1-under.
UC Riverside’s Matt Lutz holds the individual lead following an opening round 66. Stanford’s Franklin Huang and Wake Forest’s Paul McBride are tied for second after each shot 67. Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, Cal’s K.K. Limbhasut and St. Mary’s (Ca.) Connor Blick are tied for fourth at 4-under.
Live scoring of the entire 54-hole tournament will be available at Golfstat.com and on the Golfstat mobile app.
Georgia State will be paired with Georgia Tech and Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, going off Hole No. 10 at 10:55 a.m. ET.
If Georgia State finishes among the top five teams, the Panthers will advance to the NCAA Championship May 27-June 1, in Eugene, Ore., at Eugene Country Club.
JAGS’ STAALBO FINISHES FIRST DAY AT NCAA MEN’S GOLF REGIONAL
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of South Alabama men's golfer Peter Staalbo began his first-ever postseason appearance for the Jaguars with five straight pars, but a 41 on the back nine of the course resulted in an 80 on the opening day of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
The sophomore is tied for 58th in the field of 75 players after 18 holes.
"Peter played hard today, he got off to a solid start," said Jag head coach Ben Hannan. "The greens are firm, fast and very undulating, he just couldn't get the ball on the right tier so he had a lot of sloped putts and struggled with the speed all day. He birdied No. 16 and had an unforced error on No. 17, otherwise it was the putter and the speed of the greens that he struggled with."
Teeing off on the first hole at the par-72, 7,512-yard Ol' Colony Golf Course, Staalbo was even through five holes; that included pars with a four on Nos. 1 and 5 — playing at 474 and 485 yards, respectively — as well as at the 578-yard third. He added a par at the 213-yard seventh hole and was 3 over at the turn. After parring three of the first four holes on the back nine, Staalbo carded his lone birdie of the round at No. 16, a par-four playing at 491 yards, but ended the day with a double bogey and bogey on the last two holes.
Fifth-ranked Georgia and No. 17 South Carolina — the first- and third-seeded teams, respectively — were the lone squads to break par on the first 18 holes of the event, with the Bulldogs posting a 4-under-par 284 total to take a three-shot lead on the Gamecocks. UGA's Zach Healy and Greyson Sigg were tied with Jeremy Paul of Colorado for the individual lead after the opening round, with the trio recording 4-under-par 68 scores.
The second round of the regional will get underway Tuesday at 8 a.m. (CDT), with teams teeing off on both the first and 10th holes.
"This is a hard golf course, but I expect Peter to bounce back," Hannan stated. "He is a very good golfer, he wouldn't be here otherwise. I know he is disappointed in his start, but he will show up tomorrow ready to play and compete."