The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
The Goodwin
Blazers Open With Strong First Round At The Goodwin
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Junior Will Cannon paced the UAB men's golf team into second place among the 24-team field after the first round at The Goodwin on Thursday.
"They played really well today," head coach Alan Murray said. "I am really proud of how they played and handled themselves. We got off to a good start, which is something we have struggled with this year."
UAB carded an 8-under 272 through the first 18 holes as three players finished under par and one was even in the opening round. The Blazers are eight strokes behind leader TCU's 264 (-16).
Cannon had an outstanding round with a career-best 66 (-4) to sit in a tie for eighth. The Hoover, Ala. native recorded seven birdies and nine pars in the first round.
"Will (Cannon) was phenomenal," Murray stated. "He ended up with seven birdies and probably could have made a couple more. He was really impressive. All five of the guys were."
Freshman Lee Hodges sank six birdies on the day along with nine pars to finish with a career-best 67 (-3). Hodges is in a tie for 11th on the individual leaderboard. Fellow freshman Taylor Eyster also finished with a career-best round after scoring a 69 (-1). Eyster recorded four birdies on the day and is tied for 26th.
Junior Martin Rohwer started the day well with a 2-under on the front nine that included an eagle and three birdies. It was Rohwer's third eagle in the last three rounds of play. He is in a tie for 36th after an even-par 70.
Senior Paul Dunne struggled to begin the day going 4-over in the first nine, but rebounded with a 1-under on the back nine. Dunne finished the first round with a 73 (+3) and is tied for 78th.
"We will play late tomorrow for the second round," Murray added. "It will probably be a bit tougher because the greens will have had a lot use by the end of the day. We will get some rest tonight and be back at it tomorrow and see if we can do the same thing."
UAB will be back on the course in the second round of teams that are set to tee off at 1:10 p.m. PT/3:10 p.m. CT from the hole 10. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For men's golf news, follow @UAB_MensGolf.
