Tigers in 5th after first round of NCAA regional

Monday, May 13

Athens, Ga.

11:25 a.m.

University of Memphis

2019 NCAA Regional

Bawden is the first-round leader after shooting a 3-under 68 at the NCAA Athens Regional.

May 13, 2019 | Men's Golf

Athens Regional Team Leaderboard Athens Regional Player Leaderboard

UofM's Brad Bawden leads the field after firing a 3-under 68 at Athens Regional

ATHENS, Ga. – Bradley Bawden fired a 3-under 68 in the first round of the NCAA Athens Regional Monday to help the University of Memphis to a fifth-place finish on the opening day of the 54-hole postseason competition.

Bawden, who finished third in last month's American Athletic Conference Championship, made the turn at 3-under 33 Monday, a front nine total aided by an eagle-3 at the par 5, 12^th. A bogey at the par 3 eighth – Bawden's 17^th hole of the round – cost him an opportunity to end his round at 4-under or better.

Going into Tuesday's second round, Bawden holds a one-stroke advantage over Will Gordon of Vanderbilt and two Georgia golfers: Spencer Ralston and Davis Thompson.

Georgia, playing at its home course, is the first-round leader. The 16^th-ranked Bulldogs shot even-par 284, two strokes better than fourth-ranked Vanderbilt. Ninth-ranked Duke is in third place at 5-over 289 and 33^rd-ranked Tennessee is in fourth place at 6-over 290. Memphis is at 8-over 292 and alone in fifth place in the 13-team field.

Of the top seven teams on the leaderboard Monday, Memphis was the only unranked team.

"Today was a very solid start and Brad played great," said Memphis coach Blake Smart. "The course played tough with some gusty winds and difficult pin placements. But we were disciplined and executed pretty well. We certainly will have to clean things up to stay in the hunt."

The low five teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships May 24-29 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

Bawden, from Hockley, England, entered the regional with a 71.5 stroke average, which, if he can maintain it, would be a single-season school record. His 68 Monday represented his 10^th consecutive round shooting par or better.

Guillaume Chevalier, a sophomore from France, topped the other Memphis golfers in the field. He shot 1-over 72, followed by Isaiah Jackson and Borja Martin, who both had 5-over 76s. Chase Harris shot 7-over 78.

Smart credited Jackson with overcoming an early two-shot penalty for a rules infraction to "keep the round under control."

The Athens Regional was one of six being held Monday. The Tigers are competing in their seventh NCAA regional since 2008 and are attempting to reach the NCAA championship round for the first time since 2012.

2019 NCAA Division 1 Men's Golf Championships

Event: NCAA Athens Regional
When: May 13-15
Where: University of Georgia Golf Course, Athens, Ga.
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,253
Live Scoring: Golfstat
Teams in the Field (in order of seed): Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgia, Liberty, Alabama, Tennessee, Campbell, Kentucky, Nevada, SMU, Memphis, UNC-Wilmington and Princeton.
Notes: The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional advance to the finals. . . . Heavy rains in the area over the weekend delayed the start of Monday's first round by several hours.