Oct. 19, 2012
AUBURN - The No. 6 Auburn men's golf team is tied for sixth place after shooting a 9-over 297 in the first round of the U.S. Collegiate at the Golf Club of Georgia Monday.
No. 6 Auburn is tied for 6th with No. 7 UCLA, No. 3 Washington and No.16 Kent State after round one.
No. 4 Southern California has the lead at 1-over 289 on a day when only 11 of 79 players in the field shot under par. Host No. 12 Georgia Tech is tied for 2nd with No. 22 Wake Forest (291), followed by No. 20 Oklahoma State (293), and Virginia (295) in the top five.
"I thought we were really close to playing a great round. The conditions were tough with strong winds and fast greens," said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. "We can't count 78s and expect to be leading, though. We just need to tighten things up a little bit. We are gaining some valuable experience by playing some young guys on a difficult course."
All-SEC sophomore Michael Johnson fired a 3-under 69 to lead the Tigers and is tied for 2nd individually, one shot off the lead set by Oklahoma State's Talor Gooch (68). Johnson made bogey at the 5th to fall to 1-over on the day, but continued his recent run of good play by playing his last 13 holes with 4 birdies and no bogeys.
Johnson said Friday, "I've just really tried to stay more patient out there lately. I've struggled with my patience level in the past, and I'm trying to get better in that aspect this year."
Senior Michael Hebert carded a 74 for the Tigers and is tied for 22nd individually. Making four birdies on the back nine wasn't quite enough to combat four bogeys and a double bogey on the day.
Redshirt sophomore Blake Soni shot a 76 and is tied for 39th place. Soni carded birdies on the closing holes of each side to help an otherwise lackluster day.
Redshirt freshman Jake Mondy shot a 6-over 78 that left him tied for 59th.
All-American senior Dominic Bozzelli, who was returning as defending co-champion, struggled to an 8-over 80 in the first round and is tied for 67th. After birdies on his first two holes of the day, Bozzelli suffered triple bogeys on holes No. 4 and No. 6.
The Tigers will tee off at 9:00 Saturday morning alongside Oklahoma State and Duke.
Live stats for the U.S. Collegiate can be found on www.golfstat.com.
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