UNCG 10th at Puerto Rico Classic
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – The UNCG men’s golf team posted a first-round score of 10-over-par 298 to sit in a tie for 10th place overall at the prestigious Puerto Rico Classic after day one at the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa.
The Spartans are in front of three top-50 teams after 18 holes and are just two shots out of seventh place overall in a field that includes 13 teams ranked in the top 100.
The Spartans will tee off in round two Monday at 8 a.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) with a shotgun start on holes No. 12-15 with Purdue and ETSU. Live scoring will be available via www.birdiefire.com.
The 56th-ranked Spartans are tied with tournament host Purdue at 10-over-par and hold a lead over No. 32 ETSU, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 47 NC State and No. 120 Tulsa. No. 39 Georgia leads after round one with an 8-under-par 280, holding a five-stroke lead over third-ranked Alabama at 3-under-par 285. Scott Vincent of Virginia Tech holds the individual lead after a 5-under-par 67, leading by two strokes over a group of five tied at 3-under-par.
Junior Taylor Coalson leads the Spartans after day one in a tie for 18th place overall. Coalson carded a team-low even-par 72 Sunday as he notched two birdies, two bogeys and 14 par scores. He tallied birdies on holes No. 4 and 12 on the afternoon.
Freshman Josh Stockwell sits in a tie for 30th overall after posting a score of 2-over-74. Stockwell was consistent all day as he carded 16 par scores to go along with bogeys on holes No. 10 and 14.
Senior Roy Dixon and junior Luke Haithcock are tied for 45th overall after posting scores of 4-under 76 Sunday. Dixon tallied a team-high four birdies on his up-and-down round, while Haithcock posting two birdies in round one. Sophomore Jake McGlone rounded out the Spartans’ lineup with an 8-over-par 80 in round one.
This year’s difficult field is comprised of 15 teams, including 13 teams ranked in the top 100 in the latest GolfWeek.com rakings. Joining the 56th-ranked Spartans are No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 11 Alabama, No. 22 Oklahoma, No. 28 Virginia Tech, No. 30 Clemson, No. 32 ETSU, No. 39 Georgia, No. 47 NC State, No. 63 Michigan, No. 70 Purdue, No. 99 Minnesota, No. 120 Tulsa and No. 207 Nebraska.
ETSU 12th at Puerto Rico Classic
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Mateusz Gradecki led the 33rd-ranked ETSU men’s golf team in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Classic as the Buccaneer sophomore fired a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday at the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa’s River Course.
Gradecki, who carded three birdies and four bogeys on the day, is tied for 22nd. Three of Gradecki’s bogeys came in the opening four holes, but the Buccaneer bounced back with consecutive birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to get back to even-par. However, after playing consistent golf for the next nine holes, Gradecki recorded a 6 on the par-5, No. 8, moving him to 1-over for the round.
As a team, ETSU was sitting in the top five for the majority of the round, but the Bucs dropped late and finished the day in 12th at 11-over-par 299.
Junior Chris Hickman was up and down on the day as he was 3-over after the first two holes but registered three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15. He picked up a fourth birdie on the par-4 18th, moving him to 1-under. However, Hickman finished the round just like he started, as he double-bogeyed his second-to-last hole and bogeyed the final hole, placing him in a tie for 30th at 2-over 74.
Juniors Adrian Meronk and Gudmundur Kristjansson rounded out the scoring for the Bucs on day one. Meronk is tied for 39th and Kristjansson is tied for 53rd.
Second-round play gets underway at 8 a.m. on Monday. ETSU is paired with Purdue and UNCG.