Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
NCAA Northeast Regional Day 1
Rams in hunt after one round at regional tournament
5/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 14, 2009
By Danny Mattie
Athletic Media Relations
GALLOWAY, N.J. – The No. 6-seeded Colorado State men’s golf team fired a team score of 309 (+25) during Thursday’s windy opening round of the NCAA Northeast Regional at the par-72, 7,022-yard Galloway National Golf Club, and sits alone in sixth place with 36 holes to play.
“This is a very challenging golf course,” said Head Coach Jamie Bermel. “It is difficult, the greens are severe, and today’s windy conditions added to that. But it is just a matter of execution, chipping and putting. We just need to focus and play the way we are capable.”
The Rams, in search of a berth into the NCAA championships, will need to move into the top five over the next two rounds, and will enter Friday’s second round two strokes behind third-seeded Illinois (307).
Tennessee, the No. 4 seed, leads the pack with a 12-over 296, followed by No. 5 Wake Forest (297), No. 9 Virginia (298) and No. 2 Alabama (+19). Clemson, the region’s No. 1 seed, sits one stroke behind CSU in seventh place.
Zahkai Brown leads the Rams in a tie for 18th after shooting a 5-over 76 in his first postseason experience. The freshman started slowly with a double-bogey on his first hole, but bounced back with three birdies in the round to pace the Rams.
“It was good to see Zahkai execute the way he did after stumbling early on,” added Bermel. “He is the only one on the team without previous regional experience, so it was good to see him bounce back and put together a solid round.”
Junior Riley Arp, the Rams’ top finisher at the 2008 NCAA East Regional, sits just one stroke behind Brown in a tie for 23rd overall, while senor Zen Brown and junior Dustin Morris are tied for 27th in the 75-player field, after firing rounds of 7-over 78 to close out the scoring for the Rams.
Junior Bryce Hanstad closed out his round tied for 55th at 11-over.
The Rams resume competition Friday with tee times slated for 6:30 a.m. MT.
Live stats will continue to be available for the remainder of the tournament at www.GolfStat.com. Additional information can be found at www.GoColumbiaLions.com.
