The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championship
Vegas and Stone lead Men's Golf on day one at NCAA Championship
05.28.2013 | Men's Golf
May 28, 2013
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MILTON, Ga. -- A pair of 2-under-par 68s by senior Julio Vegas and freshman Brandon Stone paced the Texas Men's Golf team in Tuesday's first round of the NCAA Championship at Capital City Club Crabapple Course. Vegas and Stone are tied for eighth place on the individual leaderboard, while the Longhorns finished the afternoon wave tied for seventh place at 1-under 279 in the 30-team national championship.
Arizona State holds the first-round lead at -10 and host Georgia Tech (274) and Alabama (275) stand in second and third places, respectively. Illinois (276), California (277) and Oklahoma (278) round out the top six teams, while Oklahoma State (279) holds a share of seventh place alongside Texas. Individually, the Sun Devils' Anton Jon Rahm leads at 9-under 61.
The top-eight teams through three rounds of stroke play will advance to the match-play rounds beginning Friday. The national champion will be crowned Sunday, June 2, when the match pitting the final two teams is decided. The NCAA individual champion will be crowned Thursday pending the conclusion of the final stroke-play round.
Vegas led the Longhorns with a team-high five birdies and just narrowly missed two more on the first and 18th holes where his birdie attempts both lipped out. Three bogeys on the third, 10th and 13th holes put Vegas in the clubhouse at -2 where he was one of just 32 players to finish the day under par.
Stone joined Vegas at 2-under after a steady round that include birdies on Nos. 9, 15 and 18, a single bogey on the first hole and 14 pars.
Junior Toni Hakula is tied for 49th at 1-over 71, and sophomore Kramer Hickok (72) and senior Cody Gribble (75) are tied for 66th and 126th places.
The Longhorns are set to begin Wednesday's second round in the morning wave beginning at 6:20 a.m. Central off the 10th tee. Texas will once again play alongside Washington and New Mexico. Pairings for Thursday's final stroke play round will be determined based on 36-hole team scores.
NCAA Championship
First-round Team Leaderboard
Capital City Club Crabapple Course (par 70, 7,319 yards)
1. Arizona State - 270 (-10)
2. Georgia Tech - 274 (-6)
3. Alabama - 275 (-5)
4. Illinois - 276 (-4)
5. California - 277 (-3)
6. Oklahoma - 278 (-2)
T7. TEXAS - 279 (-1)
T7. Oklahoma State - 279 (-1)
T9. North Florida - 281 (+1)
T9. Washington - 281 (+1)
11. Kent State - 282 (+2)
T12. Texas A&M - 285 (+5)
T12. LSU - 285 (+5)
T14. Arkansas - 286 (+6)
T14. South Carolina - 286 (+6)
T14. Tennessee - 286 (+6)
T14. UNLV - 286 (+6)
T14. Georgia - 286 (+6)
T19. St. Mary's (Calif.) - 287 (+7)
T19. UCF - 287 (+7)
T19. Florida State - 287 (+7)
22. Texas Tech - 288 (+8)
23. UCLA - 289 (+9)
24. Ball State - 290 (+10)
T25. Florida - 291 (+11)
T25. Southern California - 291 (+11)
T27. New Mexico - 292 (+12)
T27. Auburn - 292 (+12)
29. Coastal Carolina - 293 (+13)
30. TCU - 294 (+14)
First-round Player Leaderboard
1. Jon Rahm, Arizona State - 61 (-9)
2. Abraham Ancer, Oklahoma - 65 (-5)
3. Brandon Hagy, California - 66 (-4)
T4. Ian Davis, Oklahoma State - 67 (-3)
T4. Talor Gooch, Oklahoma State - 67 (-3)
T4. Ollie Schniederjans, Georgia Tech - 67 (-3)
T4. Justin Thomas, Alabama - 67 (-3)
T8. Julio Vegas, TEXAS - 68 (-2)
T8. Brandon Stone, TEXAS - 68 (-2)
T8. 10 additional players at 2-under 68
Additional Texas Players
T49. Toni Hakula - 71 (+1)
T66. Kramer Hickok - 72 (+2)
T126. Cody Gribble - 75 (+5)
Post-round Comments
Texas Head Coach John Fields
On Texas' first round: I'm really pleased with our guys. The afternoon was fairly difficult, but our guys really rose to the occasion. We had two rounds under par and I couldn't be more pleased really. We got a good start on the first day and now we just have to keep going.
On today's strategy: The way the golf course is set up right now the greens are very firm and they are very fast, but you still need to hit the ball in the fairway because you can get a flier lie out of the rough. It's as difficult as it was in the fall, but it's totally different circumstances.
Senior Julio Vegas
On shooting a 68: I played here last year and I felt pretty comfortable the whole way. I had some really good shots and I made some mistakes coming in, but hey, 68 here is a good round and hopefully we can keep it up.
On settling in towards the beginning of the second nine: I followed my plan. I made my plan at the beginning of the day and I kept doing it and hopefully it will continue to work out the rest of the week.
On the wind picking up in the afternoon: This is a tough course and you have to be really focused the whole way. There are some good holes coming in, so you have to stay focused and you have to stay patient. That's what I did and I finished pretty well.
