Tigers Stand 14th After First Day of Valspar Collegiate

Sunday, March 19

Stuart, Fla.

University of Memphis

Valspar Collegiate Invitational

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers Stand 14th After First Day of Valspar Collegiate

Mar 19, 2017 | Men's Golf

PALM CITY, Fla. - The Memphis Tiger men's golf team ended the first day of the Valspar Collegiate in 14th place in a loaded field that features 10 teams ranked inside of the GolfState Top-50 in the country.

Memphis' 308 stands four strokes behind Minnesota and five behind 23rd-ranked Arkansas and 30th-ranked Florida State on the par-71, 7,114-yard Floridian Golf Course. The second round will have Memphis teeing off on the 10th holes with tee times (Central Time) of 9:21 a.m. for Colin Dubnik, 9:30 a.m. for Eithel McGowen, 9:39 a.m. for Sydney Chung, 9:48 a.m. for Chase Harris, and 9:57 a.m. for JC Campbell.

Leading the way for the Tigers was sophomore JC Campbell, who carded an opening-round score of 75, good for a tie of 27th in the field. Campbell started on the 16th hole, and opened the round with four consecutive pars, before recording back-to-back holes of a double-bogey and a bogey to put him three strokes over par.

He followed the bogeys with four straight pars before two more bogeys put him at five strokes over par. After two more pars he put together his only birdie of the round on his 15th hole of the day, on the par-three 12th hole, and closed with three more pars to close the round at four strokes over par.

Sophomore Chase Harris carded a six-over 77 for second-best score on the team, and a tie for 44th in the field. Chase started slowly after a par to start his round on the 17th hole. He picked up a bogey on his second hole, and back-to-back pars were followed by one of his three birdies on the day to push him back to even par through five holes.

Harris carded a double-bogey and a quadruple-bogey on back-to-back holes, pushing him to six strokes over par. He quickly righted the ship with a birdie on his eighth hole, which he followed with five consecutive pars. A birdie on the par-three 194-yard 14th hole cropped him to four strokes over par; however, two bogeys over the final four holes to close the day with his 77.

Sydney Chung, who came into the weekend as the team's top golfer by way of scoring average, shot a seven-over 78, but was done-in by two scores in the middle of his round. Things started smooth for the senior as he recorded pars on his first six holes, and birdied his seventh, a 454-yard par-four, to move to one stroke under par. His next two holes were the problematic scores of the round, as he had back-to-back triple-bogeys, moving him from one stroke under par to five strokes over.

He rebounded well with three consecutive pars, which were followed by two bogeys, before finishing the round with four more pars to close the day with his 78. In all, over the true back-nine of the course, he finished one stroke over par with a bogey and eight pars.

Eithel McGowen, in his first event of the spring season, carded a seven-over 78 on the day. He opened with a par on the 18th hole - his opening hole of the tournament - and came back immediately with a bogey to stand one stroke over par. A double-bogey on the fourth hole put him at three shots over par, before getting a stroke back on the par-four, 301-yard sixth hole.

Over his last nine holes he had five pars, three bogeys, and a double-bogey to finish with his 78.

Colin Dubnik carded an 81 for the team's fifth score, as he had a birdie, bogey, and birdie over his first three holes, and sat at -1 through four holes on the day. He hit a rough patch over the next six holes with a bogey and three double-bogeys, before finishing with the 10-over 81.