Hogs Surge Late On Opening Day Of NCAA Regionals
KOHLER, Wisc. – The 21st-ranked and fourth-seeded Arkansas men’s golf team rallied on its second nine Monday afternoon with eight birdies over the final six holes to post a 4-over 292, good for T-7th place after the opening round of the NCAA Kohler Regionals at the Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run.
The Razorbacks (+4) are just three shots off the cut line as the top five teams advance to the NCAA Championship later this month in Eugene, Oregon. No. 4 Florida (-5) and Idaho (-5) are tied for the lead, while No. 10 Florida State (-4) is a shot off the pace in third place.
Teeing off on No. 10, Arkansas caught fire early and rolled in six birdies on the first four holes to find itself tied atop the leaderboard at 5-under par. Freshman Charles Kim spearheaded the surge with birdies on No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4.
Kim would continue to lead the team on the opening nine holes, posting a bogey free 3-under 33 at the turn as the Razorbacks made their way to the front side at 1-under.
Alvaro Ortiz proved to be the most consistent player in the opening round with pars on the first six holes of the day, before making the turn at even par. After going 3-over heading to the 13th hole, Ortiz rolled in three birdies coming in to post an even-par 72, good for T-16th overall.
Nicolas Echavarria and Kim each posted rounds of 1-over 73 and are T-43rd overall. Echavarria birdied the final hole of the day, while Kim’s double bogey on the same hole deadlocked the duo after the first day.
Taylor Moore birdied two of the first three holes during the round, but a bogey on the final green dropped the senior to 2-over on the day and T-41st overall. Kolton Crawford recorded a team-high 13 pars, but finished his opening 18 holes at 6-over.
Arkansas will go off the No. 10 tee again Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. CDT, playing with Baylor and UCLA.
@RazorbackMGolf Lineup (Round One)
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T16. | Alvaro Ortiz | 36-36 – 72 (E) |
| T27. | Nicolas Echavarria | 37-36 – 73 (+1) |
| T27. | Charles Kim | 33-40 – 73 (+1) |
| T41. | Taylor Moore | 37-37 – 74 (+2) |
| T71. | Kolton Crawford | 40-38 – 78 (+6) |
NCAA Kohler Regional Results (Round One)
| Place | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T1. | No. 16 Florida | 283 (-5) |
| T1. | Idaho | 283 (-5) |
| 3. | No. 10 Florida State | 284 (-4) |
| 4. | No. 45 Kent State | 288 (E) |
| 5. | No. 4 Illinois | 289 (+1) |
| 6. | South Dakota St. | 290 (+2) |
| T7. | No. 21 Arkansas | 292 (+4) |
| T7. | No. 28 Baylor | 292 (+4) |
| T9. | UCLA | 294 (+6) |
| T9. | No. 33 Penn State | 294 (+6) |
| 11. | ETSU | 295 (+7) |
| 12. | Campbell | 297 (+9) |
| 13. | No. 40 Memphis | 298 (-10) |
For more information on Arkansas men’s golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
