Memphis Opens Maxwell Intercollegiate in Fifth Place

Saturday, April 16

Ardmore, Okla.

University of Memphis

The Maxwell Intercollegiate

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Memphis Opens Maxwell Intercollegiate in Fifth Place

Apr 16, 2016 | Men's Golf

Lars van Meijel leads Tigers at -4 for the opening day

ARDMORE, Okla. – Behind a second place standing from junior Lars van Meijel, the Memphis Tigers closed the first day at the Maxwell Intercollegiate in fifth place in the field, three under par over the two rounds.

"Today was good team golf," said Memphis head coach Blake Smart. "We had some ups and downs but everyone grinded it out in the wind and kept to the game plan. Also, playing all five guys together is something we never do, but the guys did a great job not letting it be a distraction and staying focused on taking care of themselves."

Memphis' 278 in the first round was followed with a 279 on the second 18 holes of the day for a two-round total of 557. Third-ranked Texas leads the field through 36 holes at 13 strokes under par with a 547. Baylor (ranked 18th) shot a 552, while New Mexico (40th) and Oklahoma State (9th) each shot a 554. Oklahoma (19th ranked) shot a 563, six strokes behind the Tigers, with Houston (34th ranked) and Augusta (29th ranked) carding scores of 574 and 576.

"We have put ourselves in a good spot for tomorrow," said Smart. "The weather will be challenging, but tough minded teams love tough weather, and I think we can be that team."

This season marks Memphis' first time playing in the Maxwell Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Oklahoma at Dornick Hills, which is 6,586 yards long and a par-70. The format for the tournament saw the Tigers tee off as a team on the same hole – the par four No. 13, and play as a five-some for the entire tournament.

Individually, the team is led by van Meijel, who is tied for second in the field with a two-round 136 (67-69). Eithel McGowen is second on the team after the second round and is tied for 12th in the field with a one-under 139 (70-69) with Thomas Perrot tying for 26th with a two-over 142 (74-68). Sydney Chung is the team's fourth player and is tied for 28th in the field with a three-over 143 (70-73). Taylor McCullum saw his first round score within the scoring top four, and his 144 (71-73) for the two rounds is tied for 37th in the field.

van Meijel, who started the round on the 13th hole, carded an opening-round 67 (three under par), using seven birdies, six pars, three bogeys and a double-bogey. He was one over par through three holes after a birdie, par and double bogey to open the day; however, he followed with back-to-back birdies to step back under par. A bogey on the 18th hole put him back at even, where he stayed until a birdie on the third hole. He followed with a bogey to even his score; however, a birdie, two pars, and another birdie put him at two under for the round. He bogeyed the ninth hole to drop him to one under, but ended the round with two birdies on the last three holes to put him at three-under par.

"Lars was very dynamic today, making a lot of birdies and capitalizing on good breaks," Smart commented.

In the second round, van Meijel recorded just one bogey (on hole No. 1) and two birdies (hole No. 5 and 16), while recording a par on the remaining 15 holes, giving him his four under day total.

McGowen, who has been one of the most consistent players for the Tigers shot nearly even scores between the two rounds at 70 and 69. After a par to start the round, he sandwiched a bogey between two birdies, which he followed with a par. He had a bogey and a birdie on back-to-back holes to remain at -1. Four consecutive pars was followed by three bogeys and a par to put the junior at two strokes over par. He closed the round strong; however, as he answered with a par and back-to-back birdies to close the round with an even-par 70.
For the second round he started with a bogey, before coming back with a par and two birdies to put him at one stroke under par. He then proceeded to par the next 11 holes, before a bogey on his 16th hole of the round dropped him to even par. That total mark did not last long, as he birdied the par-four 11th hole, and closed the round with a par to shoot a 69 – tying for his career-low in a round.

"Eithel was our glue today, I'm very proud of the progress he has made playing the game," said the head coach.

Perrot struggled in the first round, and was the Tigers' fifth scorer, before rebounding in a big way in the afternoon. Perrot started strong, with four pars, a birdie, and a bogey putting him at even par six holes into the day. On the seventh hole he had one of the team's two double-bogeys on the day. After two more pars, his next six holes consisted of a birdie, two pars, and three bogeys, putting him four strokes over par, and he closed the round with three straight pars for a 74.

He bounced back with a strong second round, as he was never above par for the second 18 holes. After two pars to start the round, he connected on back-to-back birdies. Over the next nine holes he had four pars, a bogey, and four more pars. A birdie on the par-three eighth hole put him at two under par, and another birdie on the par-four tenth hole dropped him to three under par. A bogey and par to close the round gave him a 68 on the final 18 holes.

Chung set a new collegiate-low score in the opening round as he shot a 70, topping his previous best of 72 from earlier this season. In the first round he was never above par, despite recording four bogeys in the round. He opened with a birdie on the opening hole, and never looked back. Two holes later he evened his score with his first bogey, and remained at even par for the next three holes with a trio of pars. He followed with a back-and-forth next four holes as he recorded a birdie on the No. 1 hole, a bogey on No. 2, birdie on No. 3, and bogey on No. 4. Five straight pars followed, before he birdied the 10th hole and bogeyed the 11th, closing the round with an even-par 70.

In the second round he was tied for the fourth position on the team with a 73, as he opened with three straight pars, before birdying the fourth hole of the round, and No. 16 on the course. He followed with a double-bogey, to put him above par for the first time in the day. He hit seven straight pars before three straight bogeys put him at four over par. He closed the day with a par, a birdie, and a par to finish three strokes over par for the round.

McCullum's one-over-par was the team's fourth-best score of the opening round, as he opened with a bogey on the par four 13th hole and after three straight pars bogeyed the 18th hole to put him two strokes over par. A birdie on the 18th, bogey on the second, and birdie on the 10th were the only variants from an all-par remainder of the round, as he carded a one-over 71 on the round.

He had an up-and-down second round, as he started rough, and through ten holes was five strokes over par, and remained five over par with five holes remaining in the opening round; however, two pars, two birdies, and another par over the final five holes dropped him to three strokes over par for the round, and a 73 overall.