Kats sit in 1st at The All American
2/17/2019 9:12:00 PM | Men's Golf
HOUSTON – Noah Steele fired a 69 and the Sam Houston State men's golfers sit alone on top of the leaderboard after the first day of The All American at the Golf Club of Houston.
After the opening round of play the Bearkats are 5-under par as a team, one shot better than Baylor, who is ranked No. 37 in the country.
Steele's 69 puts him in a tie for second, one-shot back of the lead. William Holcomb is in a group of nine golfers who shot a 70 on the day and sit in fourth. Jack Randle was also under par, shooting a 71 and is in 13th.
“I'm so proud of the way our men competed today,” said head coach Brandt Kieschnick. “We've worked really hard the last two weeks on having our mental mindset at the absolute highest level and the guys have worked harder than ever on this aspect this year and today was a result of the hard work we put in the last month.”
Steele got his day started on the back 9, teeing off on No. 10. He didn't waste much time getting under par, with a birdie on No. 12. Steele ran into some trouble a few holes later, however, bogeying holes 16 and 18.
But Steele bounced right back to start a string closing nine holes. He birdied hole No.1 after making the turn to get back to even par. On the par 5, fourth hole, Steele recorded one of the three eagles on the day. A birdie on No. 6 got Steele to 3-under for his round.
“He's mentally better than he's ever been here at Sam Houston this week, and that is what he has worked on hard the last two weeks,” Kieschnick said. “We've got a lot of work to do the next two days but we will continue to do the same things they got us in this position and take it one day at a time.”
Two other Bearkat golfers posted opening round scores in the top 25 with Austen Christiansen and Luis Carrera both shooting a 1-over 73.
The 14-team field includes three ranked squads, including No. 34 South Carolina (T-6th, 4-over) and No. 49 Ole Miss (8th, 5-over). Along with Baylor, three other teams are also under-par for the tournament.
The Kats will tee off at 8:45 on Tuesday morning, again starting on the back nine. The final round of The All American will be Tuesday.
