Texas Men’s Golf (No. 11) leads NCAA Regional after day one

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 11 Texas Men's Golf closed round one of the NCAA Austin Regional in first place on Monday at UT Golf Club.

Junior Scottie Scheffler leads the field after firing a 5-under 66, tying his season-low round.

He started the day with two pars before making birdies on holes three, five, and seven to go 3-under par. He made a bogey on hole eight's par-8, but ended the front nine with another par to make the turn at 2-under.

On the back nine, Scheffler made a birdie on 10's par-4, followed with three-straight pars, and then made back-to-back birdies on 14's par-5 and 15's par-4. He closed the round with pars to finish the day 5-under par.

Scheffler has fired seven rounds in the 60s this season, while 21 of his 30 rounds have been at or under par.

Junior Doug Ghim finished with a 3-under 68 to finish the day in a tie for second.

Ghim started the day with a par, but followed with a birdie on hole two's par-3. He made a bogey on hole three's par-4, but followed with a par and a birdie to return to 1-under par. He made two-straight pars before making another birdie on eight's par-3 to make the turn at 2-under.

On the back nine, Ghim made a birdie and a bogey on 11 and 12, and repeated on 14 and 15 to remain at 2-under par. He made two pars before making a birdie on hole 18 to finish the round 3-under par.

Scheffler and Ghim finished with a tournament-best six birdies during round one.

Senior Gavin Hall rounded out the top-6 for Texas, finishing with a 2-under 69 to tie for sixth.

Hall made three-straight pars to start his round before making birdies on holes four and six to go 2-under. He closed the front nine with a bogey to make the turn at 1-under par, but clawed back with a par and a birdie to sit at 2-under par. He made a bogey on hole 13, but turned around with a birdie on 14 and made four-straight pars to close the round at 2-under par.

Sophomore Steven Chervony and freshman Spencer Soosman finished in a tie for 33rd at 3-over par. Chervony made birdies on holes four, 11, and 14, while Soosman made birdies on seven, nine, and 11.

As a team, the Longhorns fired a 7-under 277 to sit five strokes in front of second-place finisher Ole Miss. The Horns recorded a tournament-best 22 birdies on the first day.

Texas will tee off for the second round on Tuesday, May 16 at 9:15 a.m. with Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.

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Post-Round Comments

Texas Head Coach John Fields

I'm pleased with our start. Scottie Scheffler shot a 66. Doug Ghim had a 68 with a birdie on 18, and Gavin Hall had a 69. We had very solid efforts from our experienced players. Our two guys who don't have a lot of experience in college golf, Steven Chervony and Spencer Soosman, both gave us solid rounds of 74.

Getting off to a good start today is much better than the alternative. I think our guys feel a little momentum coming off a win at the Big 12 Conference Championship, where there were five teams ranked in the Top 15 (nationally). We've known all along we had this in us, but we just haven't had the chance to build the chemistry. Fortunately, we've developed some continuity lately and we're off to a good start here. We need to enjoy it and keep playing hard.

Texas junior Scottie Scheffler (individual leader at 5-under-par)

I got into a rhythm on the back nine and started hitting it better. I wasn't swinging the best on the front nine and kind of survived it (at 2-under). I really hit the ball well on the back nine. I got a good break on 7 off the tee which kind of helped keep me going, and from there I hit a wedge to within a foot and made birdie. That was a good turning point for me today.

NCAA Austin Regional

UT Golf Club

Par 71; 7,355 Yards

TEAM LEADERBOARD

1. TEXAS 277 (-7)

2. Ole Miss 282 (-2)

3. Oklahoma State 287 (+3)

T4. Iowa State 290 (+6)

T4. NC State 290 (+6)

T4. Arizona State 290 (+6)

7. College of Charleston 291 (+7)

T8. Wake Forest 294 (+10)

T8. Liberty 294 (+10)

10. Georgia Southern 295 (+11)

11. Kansas 296 (+12)

12. McNeese State 303 (+19)

13. Wichita State 307 (+23)

14. Saint Peter's 308 (+34)

PLAYER LEADERBOARD

1. SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, TEXAS 66 (-5)

T2. DOUG GHIM, TEXAS 68 (-3)

T2. Ben Wolcott, Ole Miss 68 (-3)

T2. Braden Thornberry, Ole Miss 68 (-3)

T2. Jacob McBride, NC State 68 (-3)

T6. GAVIN HALL, TEXAS 69 (-2)

T6. Will Zalatoris, Wake Forest 69 (-2)

T6. Isaiah Logue, Liberty 69 (-2)

T6. Steven Fisk, Georgia Southern 69 (-2)

T10. Nick Voke, Iowa State 70 (-1)

T10. Kristoffer Ventura, Oklahoma State 70 (-1)

T10. Chun An Yu, Arizona State 70 (-1)

T10. Alex Del Rey Gonzalez, Ariz. State 70 (-1)

T10. Viktor Hovland, Oklahoma State 70 (-1)

T10. William Rainey, Charleston 70 (-1)

T10. Denzel Ieremia, Iowa State 70 (-1)

T10. Thomas Rosenmueller, N. Texas 70 (-1)

TEXAS LEADERBOARD

T28. Steven Chervony 74 (+3)

T34. Spencer Soosman 74 (+3)