PALM BEACH, Fla. – Lee’s Bennett McNabb fired a sizzling 6-under par 66 and is the medalist leader after the opening round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship which is being played at the PGA National Resort. The senior’s outstanding round included seven pars and only three bogeys.
As a team the Flames are very much in the hunt after the opening day with their 1-under par total of 287 and standing all alone in third place. St. Mary’s University (TX) holds a commanding first-day lead after a blistering 9-under par 279. Florida Southern College is one stroke ahead of Lee at 286 while the University of North Georgia, Missouri S&T University and Columbus State Univeristy are two strokes back of the Flames at 289.
Lee’s Drew Zielinski posted an even-par 72. He had an eagle on No. 3 but came back with a double bogey on No. 4 in his up and down round that also consisted of four birdies and four bogeys. Mitchell Strickland recorded a 2-over 74. He had a double bogey on the front side but battled back with three birdies. Luke Stock’s 3-over 75 was the final first-day score that counted for the Flames. He also had to come back from a double bogey on No. 16 to post his final total. George Cordall joined Zielinski with an eagle on No. 3, but he finished the afternoon with a double-bogey seven on No. 18 and his 76 did not count on Lee’s scoring.
Florida Southern’s Colton Swartz trails McNabb in the medalist competition. He finished with a 5-under 67. Two St. Mary’s (TX) players, Kongpop Kalkaew and Baptiste Touchard, are tied for third at 4-under 68 while another Texan, Guillaume Paquette, is tied with Columbus State’s Bernard Meyer, both tallied a 3-under 69 and are tied for fifth.
The Flames are scheduled for the late tee times on Tuesday with the first set going off at 12:05 EDT.
Coach Even Spence said, “The big thing for us tonight and heading into tomorrow is just keeping the urgency level high and not taking anything for granted moving forward. There are so many great teams here that you cannot get lazy and take a break from being 100% engaged in every stroke. I am excited to get some rest tonight and get back out there tomorrow afternoon. We had a nice steady start today. All in all, outside of Bennett, who was incredible and had a score to show for it, I feel like we really played a lot better than our score ultimately indicated today. I know our guys are going to be eager to get back out there tomorrow and showcase how well we are really playing right now.”