Cavalier Golfers Open NCAA Championship Play in 18th Place

Story Links

May 29, 2015

Live Scoring & Pairings | Twitter | Facebook | Photo Gallery

Bradenton, Fla. – Behind the steady play of senior Ji Soo Park (Clifton, Va.), the No. 25 Virginia men’s golf team is tied with 10th-ranked Oregon for 18th place after the opening round of the NCAA Championships at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. The Cavaliers toured the course at 12-over 300. The first-day leader is fourth-ranked Illinois at 2-under 286.

Park, playing in the NCAA Championships for the first time since his freshman season, shot 1-over 73 on the par-72, 7,483-yard layout. His round featured three birdies and four bogeys. He ended the first day tied for 35th place.

“Ji played really solid golf today,” said Virginia coach Bowen Sargent. “He drove it well and never really put himself in trouble. Bogey was probably the worst score he could have had at any point during his round.”

UVa sophomore Jimmy Stanger, from nearby Tampa, Fla., posted the Cavaliers’ second best score, shooting 2-over 74. After making the turn at 3-over, he managed two birdies and one bogey over his final nine holes to finish the round in 54th place.

Senior All-American Denny McCarthy (Rockville, Md.) managed just two birdies and completed his round in 79th place at 4-over 76. McCarthy is playing in the event for the fourth time in his career. He placed sixth last year in the individual results.

“It was an okay round considering how Derek (Bard) and Denny (McCarthy) played,” Sargent said. “If they respond and play like I know they will, then I think we will be in good shape.”

Kyle Kochevar (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) shot 77 and Derek Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.) finished at 78 to round out the Cavaliers’ scoring. Kochevar is in 98th place while Bard is 108th.

On a course that saw eight of the top-10 teams in the nation finish in 14th place or higher, the Cavaliers, for the most part, managed to avoid larger numbers. UVa counted just two scores of double bogey. The Cavaliers posted 55 pars during their round, the seventh most of any of the 30 teams in the field.

“You can’t make doubles and you can’t make triples out here and expect to contend,” Sargent said. “Par is a good score. For the most part, our guys did a good job of playing steady today.”

Illinois’ Thomas Detry and South Florida’s Claudio Correa share the first-round lead at 4-under 68. Only 23 players managed to shoot under par while 24 shot 80 or higher. Top-ranked Maverick McNealy of Stanford finished the first day of play tie for 108th at 78.

Virginia is paired with No. 13 USC and No. 19 Oklahoma State during the opening two rounds. Those same schools will play the second round starting from the 10th tee at 12:40 p.m. Saturday.

All 30 teams and six individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play (Friday-Sunday). Following 54-holes of competition, the top 15 teams, along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team, will advance for one additional day (Monday) of stroke play to determine the eight-team field for match play. The NCAA individual champion will be determined after 72 holes of stroke play.

The top eight teams after 72 holes of stroke play will be placed into a bracket for the match play portion of the tournament, which takes place Tuesday (quarterfinals and semifinals) and Wednesday (finals).

Virginia is competing at the NCAA Championships for the 15th time in the program’s history. The Cavaliers are one of five ACC teams in this year’s field.

Live scoring of the event is online at NCAASports.com.

NCAA Championships
The Concession Golf Club
Bradenton, Fla.
Par-72, 7,483 yards
First Round Results

Team Results 1. Illinois           286 2. Georgia            288 3. USC                289 4. San Diego State    290 5. LSU                292 6. Florida            293 6. Georgia Tech       293 8. South Florida      294 8. Texas              294 8. UCLA               29411. SMU                29611. TCU                29613. Duke               29714. Charlotte          29814. Florida State      29814. Oklahoma State     29817. Arizona State      29918. Virginia           30018. Oregon             30020. Auburn             30120. Houston            30120. Vanderbilt         30120. Washington         30120. South Carolina     30125. UNLV               30226. Texas Tech         30427. Clemson            30628. UAB                30829. Stanford           31030. Oklahoma           312
Individual Leaders1. Thomas Detry, Illinois          681. Claudio Correa, South Florida   683. Jake Shuman, Duke               693. Anders Albertson, Georgia Tech  69
Virginia Results 35. Ji Soo Park     73 54. Jimmy Stanger   74 79. Denny McCarthy  76 98. Kyle Kochevar   77108. Derek Bard      78="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>