NCAA Division I men’s golf regionals kicked off Monday at six sites across the country.
No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt got off to a slow start in Auburn, Alabama. The Commodores were last among the 13 teams in their regional, shooting 10 over on the front nine, but they rallied to finish the round tied for fifth, 11 shots back of eighth-seeded Chattanooga, the emotional favorite of this postseason after the death of head coach Blaine Woodruff’s unborn daughter, Riley Grace.
No top-10 team is in trouble through the first day with No. 10 Florida the only one out of position in solo seventh but just a shot out of fifth in Bath, Michigan.
Arkansas barely got into regionals after finishing the regular season with exactly a .500 head-to-head winning percentage, but the sixth-seeded Razorbacks caught fire in Salem, South Carolina, firing 22 under and leading by six shots – and that was with their star player, Julian Perico, shooting 75 and not counting.
There were some low scores. Furman’s Sam Lape shot 8-under 28 on his opening nine in Salem before settling for 65, two shots behind individual leader Ryan Burnett of North Carolina, who carded 63. And over in Las Vegas, Stanford’s Michael Thorbjorsen fired a 9-under 63, which still wasn’t good enough for the lead; that is held by Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays, who shot 62.
Here is a quick snapshot of where each of the six stand after 18 holes:
Auburn Regional
Auburn University Club, Auburn, Alabama
In position: 1. Chattanooga (-5), 2. Colorado State (-3), 3. Auburn (+4), 3. TCU (+4), 5. Vanderbilt (+6), 5. Ohio State (+6)
Within striking distance: 7. Tennessee (+9), 7. Washington (+9), 7. Indiana (+9), 10. Houston (+12), 11. Marquette (+13)
The rest: 12. Augusta (+25), 13. Siena (+30)
Individual leaders: John Houk, Chattanooga, and Christoph Bleier, Colorado State (-4)
Bath Regional
Eagle Eye GC, Bath, Michigan
In position: 1. Georgia (-18), 2. Illinois (-12), 2. Michigan State (-12), 4. Texas (-9), 5. Oregon (-5), 5. Little Rock (-5)
Within striking distance: 7. Florida (-4), 8. Kansas State (-3), 9. Liberty (-1), 10. Wisconsin (E), 11. San Diego (+2), 12. Illinois State (+4)
The rest: 13. Purdue Fort Wayne (+12)
Individual leader: Ben van Wyk, Georgia (-6)
Salem Regional
The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, Salem, South Carolina
In position: 1. Arkansas (-22), 2. New Mexico (-16), 3. North Carolina (-15), 4. Northern Illinois (-13), 5. Georgia Tech (-10)
Within striking distance: 6. Georgia Southern (-9), 7. Texas A&M (-7), 8. Clemson (-6), 9. Furman (-5), 9. Purdue (-5), 9. Middle Tennessee State (-5), 12. San Diego State (-4), 12. Longwood (-4)
The rest: 14. Long Island (+20)
Individual leader: Ryan Burnett, North Carolina (-9)
Las Vegas Regional
Bear’s Best, Las Vegas
In position: 1. Arizona State (-26), 2. Stanford (-20), 3. Virginia (-19), 4. East Tennessee State (-16), 5. Oklahoma State (-12), 5. Davidson (-12), 5. UNCG (-12)
Within striking distance: 8. Oregon State (-11), 8. San Francisco (-11), 8. Cincinnati (-11), 11. Northwestern (-10)
The rest: 12. Long Beach State (-3), 13. Kansas City (+1), 14. Lehigh (+6)
Individual leader: Preston Summerhays, Arizona State (-10)
Morgan Hill Regional
The Institute GC, Morgan Hill, California
In position: 1. Mississippi State (-12), 2. Florida State (-7), 3. Pepperdine (-4), 4. Baylor (-3), 4. Charlotte (-3)
Within striking distance: 6. Missouri (-1), 6. Grand Canyon (-1), 6. Louisville (-1), 9. BYU (E), 10. Cal (+5), 11. N.C. State (+6)
The rest: 12. Arizona (+10), 13. Northern Colorado (+18)
Individual leader: Alfons Bondesson, Missouri (-5)
Norman Regional
Jimmie Austin OU GC, Norman, Oklahoma
In position: 1. Texas Tech (-10), 2. Oklahoma (-9), 3. Alabama (-7), 4. Duke (-5), 5. Colorado (-4)
Within striking distance: 6. North Florida (-3), 7. Kansas (E), 8. LSU (+4), 9. Ole Miss (+5), 9. Princeton (+5), 11. Wake Forest (+6)
The rest: 12. UNCW (+8), 13. Louisiana (+9), 14. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (+25)
Individual leader: Nick Dunlap, Alabama, and Drew Goodman, Oklahoma (-6)
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