The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
NCAA Championships
Blazers Close Day One Of NCAA Championships
5/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 29, 2012
Live Scoring | NCAA Championship Notes| NCAA Championship Blog | Riviera Country Club
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - The UAB men's golf team finished its first round of play at the 2012 NCAA Men's Golf Championships on Tuesday, finishing with a 13-over par 297.
The Blazers finished the round in 21st place overall in the 30-team field, and are only six strokes back of the sixth place. The top eight teams after the first three rounds will qualify for match play, which begins on Friday morning.
"We didn't hit the ball as well as we have been doing, particularly in Regionals," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "We had several triple bogeys that really hurt us. Some of the guys putted well and a couple of them didn't. All that adds up to a disappointing day.
"We're not out of it. We didn't play awful but we certainly didn't play well. We just have to keep going at it tomorrow."
The Blazers were led by sophomore Wilson McDonald, who finished Tuesday's round at 2-over par 73. He will enter the second round in a tie for 46th overall.
McDonald, playing in his first postseason event for the Blazers, had three birdies but also recorded two double bogeys during his round.
"Overall, I think I played well," McDonald said. "I got off to a tough start with a double bogey on the first hole. But I was able to make a couple of birdies and I thought I putted well all day."
Sophomore Sam Love carded a three-over par 74 on the par 71, 7,297-yard Riviera Country Club course and is in a tie for 62nd overall in the 153-man field.
Love began his day on fire, recording four-straight birdies to move into a share for the overall lead at three-under par through 10 holes. However, a triple bogey on the second hole dropped back to even par. He went on to record two more bogeys to result in his three-over par score.
In fact, the 463-yard par 4 No. 2 (the Blazers' 11th hole after beginning the day on the back nine) proved to be UAB's achilles heel on Tuesday as the five-man line-up combined to shot +7 on the hole.
The Blazers' easiest hole of the day was the 583-yard par 5 11th hole, as the Blazers' combined to shoot 4-under.
Junior Hunter Hawkins and freshman Paul Dunne each recorded a four-over 75 to settle for 81st overall, while sophomore Thomas Sutton rounded out the Blazers with a 79.
Second-ranked Alabama holds a three shot lead over SEC rival Auburn and Florida after 18 holes. The Crimson tide posted a 1-over 285, while the Tigers and Gators each recorded a 4-over 289. UCLA and Oklahoma are tied for fourth at 5-over with five other teams tied for sixth at 6-over.
The Blazers tee off round number two on Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. PT on the No. 1 hole. Alabama, Texas and California will get the second round started at 7 a.m. PT.
