Barcos, Watts in Top 20, Utah Golf Owns Sixth at Austin Regional

AUSTIN, Texas - Javier Barcos started his week with a 2-under 69, Braxton Watts is tied for 18th and the University of Utah men's golf team is just a single stroke outside the top five after the first day of play at the NCAA Austin Regional at The University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
 
"We got off to a tough start, but really did a great job fighting back," said coach Garrett Clegg. "The front nine is quite a bit tougher than the back, but the boys did a great job fighting back. I believe through eight holes, we were 7-over, and we finished at 1-over. We have a lot of work to still do, but we are in a good spot."
 
Utah's current team score stands at 1-over, just one shot behind fifth-place Georgia, which is where the Utes would need to finish to move on to the NCAA Championships.
 
Barcos led the way with a round that began with four straight pars before he bogeyed the fifth, but the senior from Spain then rattled off four birdies in a stretch of eight holes, which allowed him to climb into the top 10. He maintained that standing by finishing the day with his 23rd round of the season at par or better, putting him only two strokes off the lead.
 
One shot behind Barcos is Watts, placing him in deadlock with six competitors for 18th. He also had a difficult beginning to the tournament, logging pair of front nine bogeys, but he offset both with birdies and was excellent on the back nine. During the second half of his round, Watts was 1-under, allowing him to enter the clubhouse with a 1-under 70.
 
Sergio Jimenez logged a pair of back-nine birdies and was 1-under on the final nine holes, ending the day 1-over and tied for 32nd. Gabriel Palacios is 3-over and sharing 49th, while Brandon Robison is in 74th.

In addition to Georgia, the teams in the top five are BYU, in fourth at 5-under, Tennessee at 8-under, Notre Dame at 9-under and Texas, which sits in first at -11. The top individuals not on a top five squad are Wake Forest's Michael Brennan and UNC-Greensboro's Kelvin Hernandez, both of whom are tied for first at 4-under.
 
Up Next
The Utes will have the chance to break into the top five when the teams return to the course for another 18 holes on Tuesday.
 
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