NCAA men's golf regionals: Stanford, Washington make first moves
Though they are some 3,000 miles apart, Pac-12 schools Stanford and Washington joined forces Thursday, carrying the conference torch as the NCAA men's golf regionals kicked off nationwide.
The Cardinal, led by Patrick Rodgers' 66, finished at 4-under for the day at Eugene Country Club in Oregon, taking a 4-shot lead over Oklahoma – and a ten-shot lead over third place South Carolina. It was a day of consistency for Stanford, with rounds of 71, 73, 69 and 70 to surround Rodgers.
Oregon, on its home course, struggled all day to find a rhythm, finishing at 9-over, led by Zach Foushee's 1-over 71.
[Related Coach Conrad Ray gets emotional after Stanford's team, individual Pac-12 titles]
Over in Raleigh, N.C., Washington – despite only playing 17 holes due to a weather stoppage – finds itself in a good spot, shooting 10-under and trailing Georgia Tech by 4 strokes – but comfortably ahead of South Alabama, who is 5 shots back. Trevor Simsby is 4-under through 15 for the Huskies, despite finishing the day with a bogey on the par-5 15th.
The rest of the first round will finish up Friday morning, with players returning to the course at 8:30 a.m. PT.
In Columbia, Mo., Arizona State finished at 3-over, but trails Oklahoma State – the overall leader – by 19 strokes, after the Cowboys finished a blistering 16-under-par. Max Rottluff led the Sun Devils with a 1-under 71.
[Related: NCAA men's golf regionals scores (GolfStatResults.com)]
Down south in Auburn, Ala., the Colorado Buffaloes are 9 shots off the leader in their division, finishing at 8-over. Yannik Paul led the Buffs with a 2-under 70. Colorado is in the hunt with a mix of teams, including host school Auburn, who currently sits at 6-over.
The region that struggled most overall came from the Sugar Grove regional in Illinois. The University of Alabama-Birmingham leads after day one, but find themselves 4-over, leading the Univeristy of Illinois by one stroke. The California Golden Bears struggled from the beginning, finishing at 17-over, with Brandon Hagy leading the way with a 1-over 73.
Rounding out the first day down in San Antonio, UCLA is just 9 strokes off the lead after finishing at 2-over – striking distance from leader Georgia, who were steady and deliberate, finishing at 7-under.