HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – No. 13-ranked Columbus State University men's golf opened play at the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional with a strong showing Thursday, firing a 4-under 284 to finish the first round in second place at the par-72, 6,960-yard Mission Resort + Club's El Campeón course.
Four of the five individuals carded under-par back nines to help place the Cougars at second, four shots behind Florida Southern in the 20-team regional.
Pate Stansell,
Bernard Meyer, and
Martin Gruendemann are tied for ninth individually after each carded 2-under 70s to pace the Cougars.
Gruendemann shook off a bogey on the first hole and led the way with five birdies which included a stellar three-under performance on the back nine, embracing the challenge of a course that is known for its finesse and demanding terrain. Meyer had a solid start with a birdie on hole six for the lone under-par front nine, nearly marking an unblemished scorecard for the day with three birdies and just one bogey. Stansell made the turn at even-par before marking birdies on holes 10, 16, and 17 on the back nine to round out the players under-par.
Frederick Chappell posted a two-over 74 to contribute at the fourth line, landing at 50th on the individual leaderboard. Chappell bounced back from a four-over front nine with a two-under back nine while
Russell Makepeace wrapped up day one with a three-over 75 to finish at 62nd.
As a team, CSU led the field with an average score of 3.92 and a score of four-under on the par 4s. The Cougars also led with a team total of 22 birdies on the day. Meyer tied for second in scoring on par 4s with three-under for the day with Gruendemann and Chappell tied for fifth, finishing one-under on par 4s. Makepeace and Chappell finished the day tied for fifth with five birdies apiece.
Next Up
- Columbus State is set to tee off between 9:10 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. ET to begin the second day of action in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla.
