Daytona Beach, Fla. – The Stetson men's golf team is positioned to make a run at its first tournament title on Saturday after posting a team score of four-over par 292 during Friday's opening round of play at the Sacred Heart Spring Invitational at LPGA International.
The opening round, which was not completed until Saturday morning when the final groups wrapped up play, produced a pair of 71s for the Hatters as freshman
Ian Ball and redshirt freshman
Truman Keppy both finish their trip around the Hills Course at one-under.
Both players finished the round with three birdies along with two bogeys. They are tied for fifth place overall in the nine-team tournament.
Host Sacred Heart, which posted an even-par 288 in the opening round, had the two best individual rounds of the day. Nathan Kim posted a bogey-free six under par 66 and is two shots ahead of teammate Marcus Li, who had five birdies but bogeyed his final hole for a four-under par 68.
Overall, seven players finished the opening round with scores under par, despite playing on a course that was so wet that lift, clean and place play was active throughout the round.
In addition to the two freshmen, redshirt sophomore
Bradley Goldstein had a solid round despite a sluggish start. He opened with a bogey/double-bogey start on the first two holes, but played the final 16 holes at two under par with five birdies and two bogeys. He is tied for 10
th overall.
Like Goldstein, redshirt sophomore
Mason Quagliata got off to a rocky start with a double-bogey on the first hole, but he was back to even par by the turn. His back nine included a pair of bogeys along with a triple-bogey on the par 5 14
th hole to finish with a five-over par 77.
Ryan Peters never got his putter going during the opening round, posting nine bogeys against one birdie for an eight-over par 80.
Freshman
Matthew Cooper, playing as an individual, had a solid round with a four-over par 76.
As a team, the Hatters were tied for the most birdies in the first round with 14, but struggled to a six-over par on the course's par 3 holes.
Play in the second round was expected to start at 11:15 a.m. with a shotgun start. The Hatters are scheduled to play with Sacred Heart as well as Iona College and Purdue Fort Wayne.
Live scoring is available on GolfStat.com.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.
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