Vols in Fourth After Opening Round of NCAA Regionals

Monday, May 13

Athens, Ga.

All Day

University of Tennessee

NCAA Regionals

May 13, 2019 | Men's Golf

Tennessee in position to advance to NCAA Championships after 18 holes of play in Athens, Ga.

By: Andy Kovar

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Tennessee men's golf team is in fourth after the opening round of the NCAA Regionals.

The Vols carded a first round score of 290 (+6) and are just one stroke back of No. 9 Duke who is in third place on the leaderboard. They are currently in position to advance to the NCAA Championships as the top five teams from each regional move on to be a part of the 30-team championship field in Fayetteville, Ark.

Tennessee currently holds a two-shot lead over Memphis. It has a four-shot advantage over No. 22 Liberty and Kentucky who are tied for sixth and the first two teams below the cutline.

UT was led by three players in the top 25 on the leaderboard with junior Rhys Nevin shooting a team-low opening round of 71 (E) to tie for seventh on the individual leaderboard. Nevin enters the second round just three shots off the individual lead and is just one stroke out from the top five.

Nevin carded four birdies in his opening round which is tied for second in the field. He is in front of 11 of the top 100 collegiate golfers according to the latest Golfstat rankings.

Redshirt sophomore Hunter Wolcott, who was ranked No. 65 in the latest Golfstat rankings, is just one stroke back on Nevin and tied for 12th after turning in an opening round score of 72 (+1) including a pair of birdies on the par-5 seventh and the par-4 11th.

Junior Brayden Garrison, who spent most of the round at either even par or 1-over, joins them in the top 25 as he is tied for 21st individually after 18 holes of play. Garrison carded three birdies en route to an opening round 73 (+2) and is just one stroke back of joining Wolcott in the top 15.

In Garrison and Nevin, the Vols return two players from their lineup in last season's regional, placing as the team's second and third highest finishers.

Tennessee will tee off the second round tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. ET off hole No. 10. The Vols will be paired with Liberty (+10) and UNC-Wilmington (+17) who are tied for sixth and 11th after one round of play, respectively.

Coach's Take
On how the team handled the course conditions in round one:
"We played very solid today and the guys followed their gameplan very well, showing patience and being disciplined. We need to continue to do that the next two days." – Coach Brennan Webb

On course conditions and play after weekend rain:
"The course played a little softer than it will the next two days. With the wind up all day today, it had already started to firm up as the day went on." – Coach Brennan Webb

Day One Scores:
Team

1	Georgia	E (284)
2	Vanderbilt	+2 (286)
3	Duke	+5 (289)
4	Tennessee	+6 (290)
5	Memphis	+8 (292)
T6	Liberty	+10 (294)
T6	Kentucky	+10 (294)
8	Nevada	+12 (296)
9	SMU	+13 (297)
10	Campbell	+16 (300)
11	UNC-Wilmington	+17 (301)
12	Alabama	+18 (302)
13	Princeton	+25 (309)