College Men’s Golf Results – Guilford Tied For Eighth After First Round of NCAA Championships

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – Guilford College shot 12-over-par 300 in Tuesday’s opening round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships at the Mission Inn Resort & Club. The Quakers share eighth place in the 42-team field with crosstown-rival Greensboro College and Old Dominion Athletic Conference-foe Washington and Lee University.

Guilford and Greensboro carded the day’s third-lowest score on the par-72, 6,844-yard El Campeon Course. Top-ranked Huntingdon College also played El Campeon and fired a five-over 293 that gives the Hawks a three-shot edge over second-place Rhodes College, LaGrange College and the University of Texas at Tyler. Rhodes, LaGrange and UT-Tyler were among the 20 teams and five individuals to play the par-72, 6,888-yard Las Colinas Course Tuesday.

The teams played the Central Florida courses under clear skies with light winds. Temperatures gradually warmed from the mid-70s into the low 90s later in the afternoon. The average score on El Campeon Tuesday was 79.99. Las Colinas played to 78.62 strokes per round.

Huntingdon’s Addison Lambeth (Browns Summit, N.C./Wesleyan (Appalachian State)) made five birdies on El Campeon Tuesday and finished with a three-under 69. He sits atop the 215-man field by one stroke over Christopher Newport University’s David Rabil and Wittenberg University’s Cameron Willis, who both shot two-under 70 on Las Colinas Course. Guilford sophomore Josh Hill shot one-under 71 Tuesday and is part of a six-man group in fourth place.

Hill made one of 11 eagles on El Campeon Tuesday with a three on the par-five 10th hole. The eagle fell in the midst of a hot streak for the Colorado sophomore, who also birdied the ninth and 11th holes. Three bogeys in four holes down the stretch brought him back to even, but he birdied the par-five 17th hole and came home with one of the day’s nine subpar rounds on the two courses combined.

Guilford rookies Zachary Evens and Kell Graham (Matthews, N.C./Charlotte Christian) both shot 76 in their first NCAA Championship rounds. Evens collected his third birdie of the round on the par-four 16th to get down to two-over, but a double-bogey on 18 capped a four-over round of 76. Graham was the model of consistency through 12 holes with one bogey and 11 pars. The final third of the course was more volatile. He played the final six holes at three over with two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on 18. Evens and Graham share 53rd place among individuals.
Senior Ty Palmer (Kernersville, N.C./Forsyth Country Day) provided the Quakers’ fourth score with a five-over 77. The 2015 PING First Team All-American made the turn at one over thanks to three birdies on the first nine holes, but played the back nine at five-over and settled into a share of 76th place. Guilford junior Harrison Frye (High Point, N.C./High Point Central) shot 81 Tuesday.

The teams switch courses for Wednesday’s second round, after which the field will be trimmed to 18 teams and the top-six individuals not on one of the top-18 teams. Coach Justin Tereshko’s Quakers, who went off with one of Tuesday’s final groups, tee off Wednesday beginning at 8:20 a.m. on the Las Colinas course. Real-time scoring of the NCAA Championships can be found on NCAA.com and Golfstat.com.