The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
Lopez leads Men's Golf in opening round of NCAA Championship
05.26.2009 | Men's Golf
May 26, 2009
Day 1 Results 
|
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Texas junior Lance Lopez carded a three-over 74 to lead the Longhorns in a chilly and rainy opening round at the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championship Tuesday at the par 71, 7,255-yard Inverness Club.
As a team, Texas shot a 24-over 308 in Tuesday's opening round and ended day one in 28th place. Oklahoma State and Georgia are tied for the day-one lead after shooting rounds of four-over par. Tennessee-Chattanooga sits in third at eight-over par, while Washington and San Diego are tied for fourth at nine-over par. Northwestern's Jonathan Bowers, Illinois' Scott Langley and North Carolina State's Matt Hill are tied for the individual lead at two-under par.
The 30-team field will be cut to eight teams after the third round on Thursday. The final top eight will begin match-play quarterfinals Friday morning followed by semifinals in the afternoon. The final two teams will go head-to-head in match play with the national title on the line on Saturday. The NCAA individual medalist will be crowned Thursday upon completion of the third round.
After teeing off early in the day at 7:20 a.m., the Longhorns played in chilly and rainy conditions through most of the round before dry weather prevailed over the last few holes. Lopez led the team with his three-over 74 despite being the lone Longhorn without a birdie on the day. Starting at the 10th tee, Lopez (Missouri City, Texas) made the turn with a 37 and carded an identical 37 on the back nine, holes one through 10. Lopez is tied for 41st place individually heading into Wednesday's second round.
Freshman Dylan Frittelli carded a six-over 77 in round one and is tied for 93rd place going into the second. Frittelli (Pretoria, South Africa) opened with a 37 on the back, highlighted by a birdie at the 18th hole, before carding a 40 in the second nine.
Sophomore Donald Constable opened with a 41 on the first nine before bringing the round home with a 37 on his second nine. Constable (Wayzata, Minn.) carded a seven-over 78 on the day and is tied for 117th place after the opening round.
Sophomore Bobby Hudson (Memphis, Tenn.) opened with a 40 on his first nine and followed with a 39 on the second nine highlighted by a birdie at the first hole. Hudson is tied for 127th place heading into round two. Junior Charlie Holland shot a 16-over 87 in round one and is tied for 155th place.
Texas tees off in Wednesday's second round at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.
2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championship - Round One
28. TEXAS 308 (+24)
Texas Players
T41. Lance Lopez 74 (+3)
T93. Dylan Frittelli 77 (+6)
T117. Donald Constable 78 (+7)
T127. Bobby Hudson 79 (+8)
T155. Charlie Holland 87 (+16)
POST-ROUND QUOTES
Texas head coach John Fields
On UT's opening round: It's unfortunate we got off to this kind of start. Early in the round, we had a couple of opportunities to start off positively, but they just didn't go our way. The momentum shifted in the wrong direction, and we couldn't get anything to work well for us. We know we will be a long way back when we start tomorrow, but all five of our guys are capable of playing well and can play well at the NCAA Championship. We have two major rounds left, and we need to put our best foot forward.
On Lance Lopez's performance: Lance definitely has grown as a player. He has become a very good player. He didn't make any birdies today, but he kept his round together and did a good job out there. The conditions were difficult, and a 74 turned out to be a solid score. I look for him to play well again tomorrow.
UT junior Lance Lopez
On his opening round: I hit the ball well and put it on the greens. I gave myself opportunities and put the ball in the fairways, but I couldn't get any birdies to fall. I just tried to stay in the zone and play my game. I kept everything simple and didn't force anything.
On the challenge of playing the Inverness Club: It was what I expected. There are some challenging holes, but other than that, I treated it like any other course. I think the course got the best of me today. I will do what I can tomorrow. The course reminds me of the one we played outside of Chicago (Olympia Fields) earlier in the season. The rough is about the same, and there are challenging holes. If you don't hit the fairways or the greens, it can go downhill easily.
