University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
Vols Sixth Behind Renwick's 71
October 15, 2010 | Men's Golf
Oct. 15, 2010
JONESBOROUGH - Tennessee kept from being blown completely off course here Friday and sits in a tie for sixth place after one round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.
The Vols opened with an 11-over-par 299 to trail leader Kent State (291) by eight shots. UT is only four shots out of second place, but head coach Jim Kelson felt Friday's results, despite winds gusting to 30 mph, could have been better.
"It's tough, but college golf's tough," he said. "This won't be the last time we play in something like this. But yes, it was a difficult, challenging wind. All the hard holes were playing into the wind. It was a tough golf course but it was tough for everybody.
"Unfortunately, we played the front side pretty good but we didn't play well on the back. We need to go out and play a very good round tomorrow to jump back in."
LIKES THE RIDGES
Darren Renwick led the Vols with a sparkling 1-under-par 71 on what is fast becoming one of the junior's favorite courses. He opened with a 74 last year at The Ridges Golf and Country Club en route to a 3-under-par, second-place finish.
"I do like it here, because I feel at home in the hilly and windy conditions," said Renwick, who is tied for fourth. "I've prepared pretty well and been playing great in practice. It was just a matter of going out there and doing what I've been doing well recently."
Results in tournament play had been hard to come by for Renwick, as Friday's round was his first this season of par or better. Renwick said the trio of birdies during his opening-nine 34 were a welcome experience.
"I got off to a great start striking the ball and just tried to hang in there. On No. 6, I made birdie and that's a brutal hole today. I just killed two shots and had a tap-in."
Renwick's birdie putt on the closing 18th was much more difficult but dropped just the same. Last year on the same green, he drained a nearly 40-foot putt for birdie that lifted Tennessee to the championship title. Renwick finished Friday's round with five birdies against four bogeys.
"He played great," Kelson said. "He's had success here and it was a great time for him to have a really good round. It was important for him and it was important for our team."
'KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO TAKE A BOGEY'
Robin Wingardh scored even par on the back nine -- he had 14 pars for the day -- to finish at 2-over 74. The senior's lone birdie came at the par-5 14th hole. Wingardh sits in a tie for 16th place as he shoots for his third consecutive top-20 finish to begin the season.
"There were holes today where you just knew you were going to take a bogey," Wingardh said. "I didn't play great, but I am satisfied with my results because I felt I hung in there."
Garrick Porteous shot matching 38s for a 4-over-par 76. On both nines, Porteous carded one birdie against three bogeys and is tied for 32nd place.
Max Smith made his UT debut with a 6-over 78 that was hurt by consecutive bogeys on the last three holes. But the Berkshire, England, product felt he and the rest of the team are in a good position heading into Saturday's second round.
"This was my first and I was pretty nervous. I had to make a few putts and Casey (VanDamme, UT assistant coach) was with me and really helped me a lot. One-over through nine and I was pretty encouraged, but the back nine is tough. A lot of wind out there and the gusts were really difficult.
"I like where we are, though. If Darren shoots 71 out here today, just imagine what he can do over the weekend."
VOLS WITH TWO MORE SHOTS
Marshall Talkington, playing as an individual, also shot 78 to tie Smith for 47th place. Jay Vandeventer struggled with his game in the windy conditions and finished with an 83, his worst result of the young season by five strokes.
"I think we will be OK," Kelson said. "We didn't blow ourselves out, for sure, but we could have crept right up there pretty high. I'm disappointed from that respect, but we've still got a couple more shots at it."
Kent State was paced by overall individual leader John Hahn, who shot a 4-under-par 68 to grab a two-shot lead over Virginia Tech's Marshall Bailey and Missouri's Jace Long. Missouri is tied with North Carolina for second place at 295, followed by UNC Wilmington (296) and Virginia (297) ahead of the Vols and Chattanooga (299).
Tennessee plays Saturday with Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, beginning at 10:10 a.m. on the No. 1 hole. Weather conditions call for a high of 69 degrees under sunny skies, with winds calming to less than 10 mph.
Live scoring is available on UTsports.com, via Golfstat.com.
| TEAM SCORES | ||
| 1. | Kent State | 291 (+3) |
| t-2. | Missouri | 295 (+7) |
| t-2. | North Carolina | 295 (+7) |
| 4. | UNC Wilmington | 296 (+8) |
| 5. | Virginia | 297 (+9) |
| t-6. | TENNESSEE | 299 (+11) |
| t-6. | Chattanooga | 299 (+11) |
| t-8. | Wake Forest | 300 (+12) |
| t-8. | Virginia Tech | 300 (+12) |
| 10. | Michigan | 303 (+15) |
| t-11. | East Tennessee State | 305 (+17) |
| t-11. | Coastal Carolina | 305 (+17) |
| 13. | Louisville | 309 (+21) |
| 14. | Denver | 314 (+26) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||
| 1. | John Hahn, Kent State | 68 (-4) |
| t-2. | Marshall Bailey, Virginia Tech | 70 (-2) |
| t-2. | Jace Long, Missouri | 70 (-2) |
| t-4. | Darren Renwick, TENNESSEE | 71 (-1) |
| t-4. | Josh Brock, UNC Wilmington | 71 (-1) |
| t-4. | Benjamin Weilguni, Chattanooga | 71 (-1) |
| UT SCORES | ||
| t-4. | Darren Renwick | 71 (-1) |
| t-16. | Robin Wingardh | 74 (+2) |
| t-32. | Garrick Porteous | 76 (+4) |
| t-47. | Max Smith | 78 (+6) |
| t-47. | Marshall Talkington* | 78 (+6) |
| t-69. | Jay Vandeventer | 83 (+11) |
| *Competing as individual. | ||
Players Mentioned
