Fourth-seeded BYU lived up to its seeding as the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships got underway at six regionals throughout the country on Monday.
Sixth-seeded Utah did not.
Playing in the Athens (Georgia) Regional, No. 24 BYU is alone in fourth place at 6-under 278 after freshmen Kihei Akina carded a 3-under 68 and teammates Parker Bunn, Peter Kim and Tyson Shelley posted 1-under 70s at the par-71 University of Georgia Golf Course.
Senior Simon Kwon posted a non-counting 3-over 74 after being 4-over on the front nine and then recovering well.
Akina, the No. 6-ranked golfer in the country, is tied for eighth in the individual race, while his three aforementioned teammates are tied for 17th. Akina opened with a bogey, then made four birdies to get back into contention.
“I was happy with the start we had today,” BYU director of golf Todd Miller said. “We got rolling late on our first nine holes and really played the tough par threes well on our second nine.”
No. 36 Louisville leads the regional at 10-under, followed by No. 1 Auburn (-7) and No. 13 Vanderbilt (-7).
Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert leads the tournament at 6 under, while the Tigers’ Jackson Koivun, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the country, is T17 at -1.
Every member of the traveling BYU golf team is from the state of Utah, including substitute Jackson Mauss.
Second-round play in the 54-hole tournaments for both BYU and Utah begins Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. MDT. The third and final round is Wednesday.
Utah starts slow in Ohio
Playing in the Columbus (Ohio) Regional at the par-71 Ohio State University Scarlet Golf Course, No. 35 Utah is tied for 11th with Oregon and USF in the 13-team field after coming in at 16-over in its opening round.
The Utes, who are in an NCAA regional for the third straight year, got off to a slow start with a flurry of early bogeys and had to count some high individual scores.
Utah was led by Sergio Jimenez, who shot a 1-over 72 and is tied for 11th individually. Gabriel Palacios is at 4-over 75, while Jack Jerge is at 5-over 76 and senior Brandon Robison is at 6-over 77. Senior Davis Johnson posted a non-counting 81.
Florida (-7), Memphis (+5), No. 25 Florida State (+6) and No. 14 Stanford (+6) lead the Columbus Regional, with the No. 2 Gators the only team under par. Florida’s Parker Sands shot the day’s best round in Ohio, carding a 5-under 66.