The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Mercedes Benz Collegiate
UAB 11th Of 17 After Mercedes-Benz First Round
2/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 20, 2005
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Sophomore Garrett Osborn shot an even-par 72 in the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship Sunday to anchor UAB to an 11th place standing out of 17 teams. The Blazers shot an 11-over-par 299 team score for the day and are just 13 team strokes behind leader and defending champion South Carolina.
Osborn is tied with 13 other golfers for 13th in the individual standings after round one play of the 54-hole tournament at the par-72, 6,985-yard Sawgrass Country Club. Five individuals are tied on the leaderboard with two-under finishes after round one. UAB freshman Kaylor Timmons ended the first 18 with a two-over-par 74. Chris Cousins (76), Ryan Thomas (77) and Marco Zirov (80) also competed for UAB.
"The course played hard but we had some good scores," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "This is the toughest field we will face in the spring, so to be where we are on such a difficult course and with our traditionally top golfers a bit off their game Sunday, we should be in good shape. We're looking forward to tomorrow."
The Blazers, the lowest rated team in the field according to the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, are facing a field that includes eight top-25 teams. No. 25 South Carolina leads the field with a two-under 286 team score. LSU is in second place with an even-par 288. No. 23 Tennessee, No. 20 Florida and No. 9 UCLA round out the top 10.
Kaufman's club will get two week's rest between tournaments after Tuesday's final round. UAB returns to action at the Conrad Rehling Spring Invitational hosted by the University of Alabama the weekend of March 11-13.
