The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championship Stroke Play
No. 4 Men’s Golf tied for second after opening round at NCAA Championship
05.23.2025 | Men's Golf
Morrison fires a 5-under 67 on Friday and is tied for second in the individual standings.
CARLSBAD, Calif. — The No. 4 Texas Men's Golf team carded a 3-under-par 285 on Friday to rest in a tie for second place after the opening round of the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa. Junior Tommy Morrison posted a 5-under 67 on Friday and is tied for second place in the individual standings, just one stroke off the lead after the first 18 holes.
In addition to Morrison's performance, the Longhorns also counted scores in the opening round from junior Luke Potter (1-under 71), sophomore Jack Gilbert (even-par 72) and freshman Daniel Bennett (3-over 75).
"Going out in the afternoon, you're going to deal with some wind. I thought our guys did a really fine job staying present and getting off to a good start," Texas head coach John Fields said. "We kind of maintained that through the difficult holes. At the end, we maybe dropped a couple shots that in retrospect could have held on to or possibly could have gone the opposite direction. I'm happy with how our guys played today."
No. 6 Oklahoma tallied an 8-under 280 and owns a five-stroke lead in the team standings after the first 18 holes. The Longhorns are one of three teams that are tied for second at 3-under 285, including No. 7 Florida and No. 9 Florida State. An additional trio of teams including No. 1 Auburn, No. 5 Arizona State and No. 12 Illinois are tied for fifth at 2-under 286.
Texas A&M's Phichaksn Maichon holds the 18-hole individual lead after carding a 6-under 66 on Friday. Morrison and Carter Loflin of Georgia are tied for second at 5-under 67, and there is a group of eight golfers who are tied for fourth at 4-under 68.
"Everything was pretty solid today and I kept it right in front of me," Morrison said. "It wasn't necessarily all out of the middle of the face, but it was going where I was looking for the most part. I made some nice putts early which was important, as you need to get off to a good start here. I played with nice freedom."
The 2025 NCAA Championships continue with stroke play for all 30 teams on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25. In Saturday's second round, the Longhorns will be paired again with Oklahoma and Arizona State, and tee times will begin at 8:52 a.m. CT (6:52 a.m. PT) from hole 10.
The field will be cut to the top 15 teams following Sunday's third round. The fourth and final round of stroke play is set for Monday, May 26, and the individual NCAA champion will be crowned following the completion of 72 holes of stroke play.
The top eight teams following Monday's final round of stroke play will advance to the NCAA Match Play Championships. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Tuesday, May 27, while the NCAA Championship match is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28.
The Lineup
- Junior Tommy Morrison fired a 5-under 67 in the opening round and is tied for second in the individual standings, just one stroke off the lead. Starting on hole 1, Morrison tallied six birdies (holes 1, 2, 6, 9, 10 and 11) against just one bogey (hole 4) on Friday.
- Junior Luke Potter carded a 1-under 71 on Friday and is tied for 25th place. Potter was 2-over through his opening four holes, but rallied to record back-to-back birdies on 5 and 6 to get back to even-par. After a bogey on 8, he posted three-straight birdies on holes 9, 10 and 11 to climb to 2-under. Potter made six-straight pars before a bogey on the closing 18th hole.
- Making his NCAA Championship debut, sophomore Jack Gilbert recorded an even-par 72 in his opening round and is tied for 39th. Gilbert tallied three birdies (holes 1, 2 and 10) on Friday.
- Also making his NCAA Championship debut, freshman Daniel Bennett registered a 3-over 75 on Friday and is tied for 79th. He carded a pair of birdies (holes 2 and 18) in his opening round.
- Junior Christiaan Maas posted a 6-over 78 in his opening round and is tied for 130th. Maas recorded an eagle on the par-five 6th hole and a birdie on hole 10.
Players Mentioned
