The Georgia Southern men's golf team has some ground to make up, but still have two days to do it as they are currently tied for 10th place after day one of the NCAA Regionals taking place at Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee.
The Eagles (+3) are tied for 10th with LSU, six strokes behind Georgia (-3) in fifth. Florida State (-17) leads the field, and Georgia Tech (-11) is second. Liberty (-5) is third, followed by Ohio State (-4) in fourth. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals, which will be played May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“I thought the guys played pretty well overall,” said coach Carter Collins. We let a few birdie chances slip by on the front nine, but it is day one and there is still a long way to go. The guys are still getting acclimated with the course and calibrating the speed on the greens.”
Ben Carr shot a 71 to lead the Eagles individually. Carr is tied for 19th on the individual leaderboard, while Brett Baron, who shot a 72, is tied for 27th. Freshman Luke Dasher posted a 73, Jake Maples shot a 75 and Mason Williams posted a 76.
“The thing that we have learned through our experience playing in the NCAA Regionals is it’s not over after the first day,” said Collins. “They don’t hand out the five spots in the NCAA championship until after the third day. We still have a lot of golf left to play. We are not a result-based team especially after only one day. We are a process team, and we are still going through our process. Whatever it adds up after the third day we will live with it but I am proud of our guys after day one.”
Some reasons to believe things can turn around included Carr who made the turn at 1-over. The junior birdied holes 1, 3, 4 and 7 on the front side. Dasher played his last 10 holes clean with a birdie at 8, and Barron ran off eight straight pars on the back nine and played the front 1-under with birdies at holes 2 and 4. Maples played his last 11 holes even with a birdie on 5, and Williams made par on his final seven holes of the day.
“I think getting more confident and comfortable on this course will come,” said Collins. I think we are in for something special over the next few days, and I can’t wait to get back out there on the course tomorrow.”
The Eagles tee off with LSU and Florida A&M Tuesday beginning at 9:55. Live scoring can be found at golfstat.com
Josh Aubrey may be reached at (912) 486-9408.
