Texas Tech golf closes Day One of NCAAs in strong position
The Red Raiders used a consistent round of 282 to sit in a tie for fourth
Provided by Texas Tech Athletics
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (NEWS RELEASE) – Powered by a pair of consistent rounds from freshman Matthew Comegys (-2) and senior Ludvig Aberg (-1), the No. 5 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders closed Day One of the NCAA Championships in a tie for fourth place.
Sitting just two shots off the lead, the Red Raiders received strong performances up and down the roster on Friday, to end the afternoon just two shots behind Georgia Tech who used a blistering round of 64 (-6) from Ross Steelman to end the day at even par.
Steelman, who did not make a bogey on Friday, enjoys a two-shot lead over a trio of players who sit at -4.
Teeing off in the late morning/early afternoon slot, Tech more than held its own, tying for the low-round of the afternoon with No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 2 UNC who also ended the afternoon session at +2.
As he did in his postseason debut in Norman, Comegys was rock solid for the Red Raiders, as the freshman made five birdies and just three bogeys, to close out an opening round 68.
Despite maybe not playing his best, Aberg used a solid three birdies and just two bogeys to end the opening day with a strong round of 69.
In total, the Red Raiders sit just two shots behind the No. 11 Ramblin’ Wreck who lead after 18 holes.
No. 8 Pepperdine and Arkansas are one behind GT, at +1 after the first 18 holes. Georgia Tech, Arkansas and Pepperdine all played this morning and are scheduled for an afternoon tee time on Saturday.
As previously mentioned, Tech, UNC and Vandy are all tied at +2, followed by No. 9 Florida (+3) and No. 7 Florida State (+4) who occupy the ever important seventh and eighth spots.
A trio of teams highlighted by No. 3 Illinois and No. 25 Georgia sit tied for ninth at +5, with No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 23 Ohio State closing the first day at +7, which is good for a tie for 12th.
Auburn sits one shot behind the Sooners and Buckeyes at +8, with No. 14 Texas A&M and BYU sharing 15th at +9.
No. 6 Stanford, No. 15 Alabama, No. 16 Virginia and Duke are all tied for 17th at +10, followed by host team and No. 4 Arizona State at +11. Oregon (+12) and Colorado are deadlocked for 23rd at +12, with New Mexico occupying the 25th spot at (+13).
Chattanooga (+14), No. 17 Texas (+15), No. 22 Colorado State (+16), East Tennessee State (+22) and Baylor (+24) round out the 30 team field.
As previously mentioned, Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman enjoys a two-shot lead on the individual title race.
HEAD COACH GREG SANDS:
“I was really proud of our three newcomers who have never played at Grayhawk before [Comegys, Snyders and Wall], because when you haven’t played here before and you get thrown into the afternoon round, there are things you have to adjust to. The ball really flies out here and it’s hard to tell which way the wind is blowing at times. I thought those guys did great, which was a major key to the round today. Obviously, Ludvig played solid golf, and then Calum [Scott] did not quite have his best stuff, but I know he’ll bounce back tomorrow.”
UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders look to build upon today’s strong start on Saturday morning when they tee off for the second round of the NCAA Championships. Paired once again with No. 4 ASU and No. 6 Stanford, the Red Raiders tee off beginning at 8:32 a.m. (CT) tomorrow.
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