Men's golf shoots 2-under on opening day of Championship

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – On the opening day of the NCAA Men's golf championship, the Sam Houston Bearkats did exactly what head coach Brandt Kieschnick asked of them, shoot under par.

The Bearkats got off to an early strong start and never looked back. They shot a 2-under 278 and were in second place after the first wave of pairings. After the top 15 teams took the course in the afternoon pairings, the Kats remained in second, two shots back of leaders Texas Tech. Pepperdine is the only other team under par after the first day of play.

"I thought it was a solid round. I'm very proud of how they played and proud of their discipline," Kieschnick said. "We had three under par rounds today. We have been preparing to be the same team every day. We are doing the things that lead to an under par day, and that's what we want to do and it's not easy."

The Kats had two golfers shoot a 67 on Friday, William Holcomb who played last for the Bearkats and Ting-Wei Hsieh who got the day started. For Hsieh, the 67 was a season best, and equally his career low.

"I think with this golf course you have to hit your tee shot pretty good and I think I hit my tee shots pretty good today," Hsieh said. "I got some up and downs, hit some greens and made my putts. As soon as I made my first birdie I felt I could go low today. I was just trying to focus on each shot and do my best on this course."

Kieschnick said it was Hsieh's simplistic approach to the course that allowed him to play well.

"He is real simple," Kieschnick said. "He just hits his shot, gets balls up and down and putts it good. His strength is his simplicity. He just knows what he can do and doesn't do too much. He plays within himself and is very capable of shooting that every day."

Holcomb started his round with seven pars before his first birdie on No. 17. He closed his round with birdies on No. 7 and No. 9, recording just one bogey on the day.

"I was just focusing on staying in the present and taking what the course would give me," Holcomb said. "It's the first day of the tournament and you aren't going to go out there and win it. I just waited on the round to come to me and not try to force something on a tough championship golf course."

One other Bearkat was under par today with Luis Carrera shooting a 69. His day included four birdies, including three on the back nine. Paul Chaplet shot a 75 and Grayson Blunt shot a 76.

The Kats will have the afternoon tee time on Saturday, with Hsieh getting it started at 2:25. The pairings will be reshuffled for Sunday's round based on the scores after 36 holes.

Finals play consists of three days of stroke play on Friday thru Sunday (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined.

That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on Monday, May 31 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, June 1, followed by finals on Wednesday, June 2.

Men's golf shoots 2-under on opening day of Championship

Players Mentioned

Grayson Blunt

Luis Carrera

Paul Chaplet

William Holcomb

Ting-Wei Hsieh

Footer