Flames In 9th Place After Day 1 of NCAA Regionals

May 15, 2023 | Bath Mich | Golf

Box Score

No. 7 seed Liberty began its quest to advance to its fourth-straight NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship on Monday with a 1-under par 283 during Round 1 of the NCAA Bath Regional.

Liberty, who came into the event ranked No. 39 in the country, carded 20 birdies during its first trip around the Eagle Eye Golf Club (par 71, 7,090).

The Flames finished the opening round of the Michigan State hosted regional tied for third place in total birdies (20), along with No. 1 seed Illinois and No. 4 seed Oregon.

Liberty’s 1-under par 283 has the Flames in ninth place and four shots outside of a top-five standing in the 13-team field.

Following play on Wednesday, the top five teams from this Regional and the other five NCAA Regionals will advance to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, which will be contested at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 26-31.

No. 6 seed Georgia blitzed the course on Monday, carding 31 birdies to finish the opening day of the Regional event with an 18-under par 266.

The Bulldogs led event host and No. 10 seed Michigan State and No. 1 seed Illinois by six strokes, as the two teams carded matching scores of 12-under par 272.

No. 3 seed Texas is currently in fourth place with a 9-under par 275, while No. 4 seed Oregon and No. 9 seed Little Rock hold down the coveted fifth place spot with a 5-under par 279.

Georgia’s Ben Van Wyk leads the 75-man field following a 6-under par 65. Oregon’s Owen Avrit, Georgia’s Caleb Manuel and Michigan State’s Troy Taylor, II, are one shot off the pace after a 5-under par 66 opening round of the Regional.

Liberty had a pair of golfers finish the first day of the event in red figures. Connor Polender is currently tied for 12^th place with a 3-under par 68.

Jonathan Yaun, the 2023 ASUN Championship medalist, followed up a record-setting performance at the conference championship with a 2-under par 69, which has him tied for 20^th place. Both Polender and Yaun opened the Regional with five birdies apiece.

The Flames will be sent off the No. 1 (par 4, 453 yards) during round two starting at 8:55 a.m. EST on Tuesday, along with golfers from No. 2 seed Florida (4-under par 280) and No. 5 seed Kansas State (3-under par 281).

Round Recap – Liberty’s Starting Five: