Austin, Texas ----- After an opening round that tested San Jose State University's resolve, the Spartans are in eighth place at the NCAA Men's Golf Austin Regional.
San Jose State has a team score of seven-over par 291 in the 14-team field at the University of Texas Golf Club. The Spartans trail co-leaders Pepperdine and host Texas by 13 strokes after the Waves and the Longhorns each posted 278's.
"We battled pretty doggone good, actually. It's a very, very long golf course right now. They've had 17 inches of rain this month. The fairways are really soft and the greens are starting to firm up. It's a really good test of golf," said San Jose State men's golf coach John Kennaday.
"We were fortunate to get here a little early and get used to the conditions. I think it paid off in a big way. The teams that came in late didn't play so hot (today)."
More importantly, San Jose State is seven strokes behind fifth place Clemson, which started the regional championship at even par 284. TCU at 280 and Arkansas at 282 occupy the third and fourth positions in the team standings.
The top five teams from the Austin Regional advance to the NCAA Championships, May 24-29 in Fayetteville, Ark.
"We realize it is a 54-hole battle. There are 54 battles we have on our hands. We're going to win some and we're going to lose some. If we keep our wits about ourselves, we might win the war," said Kennaday.
"We're OK where we are at. It's a marathon; not a sprint. We'll keep plugging away at what we are doing. We're comfortable with our game plan."
All-Mountain West golfers Kevin Velo and Sean Yu led the way for San Jose State in the opening round with even par 71s on the par 71, 7,355-yard University of Texas Golf Club course. Velo was three-under after nine holes and three over on the back nine. Yu was two-over after seven, but played his next seven holes three-under par, and final four holes one over for his 71.
The Spartans also counted Ben Campbell's 74 and Bryce Wortman's 75 in the team scoring. Campbell was two-under par after six holes, but lost ground to par on holes seven through 10. Matt Heitel's 81 did not count in the five-player, score four team scoring format.
Only 12 players were under par in the opening round. Pierceson Coody of Texas is the individual leader with a five-under par 66.
The 54-hole championship continues with 18 holes on May 14 and a final round on May 15.
NCAA Men's Golf Austin Regional Championship
University of Texas Golf Club, Austin, Texas
Par 71, 7,355 yards
May 13, 2019
First of three rounds
| Team scores |
|
| 1. Pepperdine |
278 |
| Texas |
278 |
| 3. TCU |
280 |
| 4. Arkansas |
282 |
| 5. Clemson |
284 |
| 6. Southern California |
290 |
| Marquette |
290 |
| 8. San Jose State |
291 |
| 9. Iowa |
295 |
| Missouri Kansas City |
295 |
| 11. Sam Houston State |
303 |
| 12. Saint Mary's (Calif.) |
307 |
| 13. Army |
309 |
| Prairie View A&M |
309 |
| Individual leaders |
|
| 1. Pierceson Coody, Texas |
66 |
| 2. David Ravetto, TCU |
67 |
| Joshua McCarthy, Pepperdine |
67 |
| Julian Perico, Arkansas |
67 |
| 5. Joe Highsmith, Pepperdine |
68 |
| 6. Hayden Springer, TCU |
69 |
| Benton Weinberg, Iowa |
69 |
| Sam Kim, USC |
69 |
| San Jose State scores |
|
| 13. Kevin Velo |
71 |
| 13. Sean Yu |
71 |
| 35. Ben Campbell |
74 |
| 42. Bryce Wortman |
75 |
| 69. Matt Heitel |
81 |
