NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – Following the open round of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, the SCAC has a pair of teams sitting in the top-10 heading into tomorrow’s second round. The 72-hole championships are being held at Keene Trace Golf Club, which features both the Keene Run and the Champion Trace courses. Live Stats | Live Video
Trinity University currently sits tied for seventh, just six shots behind the clubhouse leader, St. John’s University (Minn.) after firing an opening team round of 290 (+2). University of St. Thomas heads into round two tied for 10th, in a crowded field that features 12 teams that are 10 shots or less behind the leaders. The Celts, playing in the program’s first NCAA Championship, carded an opening team round score of 292 (+4) just eight shots off the lead. As a team, the Tigers finished tied for first in opening round par-3 scoring with a scoring average of 2.95, while the Celts’ 4.80 scoring average on the par-5s was 10th best in the field.
Individually, Trintiy was led by senior Daniel Nunez, who fired an opening round 71 (-1) and sits just inside the top 15 at a tie for 14th. Nunez finished with three birdies on the day, moving to -3 after 13 holes. St. Thomas was paced by senior Jonathan Miller who leads all SCAC athletes after posting a monster first round and sits tied for second after carding a 4-under 68. Miller finished the opening round tied for first with seven birdies on the afternoon.
Additionally, the SCAC sent a pair of individuals to vie for National Championship Medalist honors. Southwestern senior Christian Rodriguez, who is competing in his second-straight NCAA Championships is tied for 24th after an even par opening round of 72. Rodriguez finished with a balanced card of three birdies, three bogies and 12 pars. SCAC Champion, senior Zhao Yung Gu heads into the second day of competition, tied for 51st after posting a first-round score of 74 (+2). Yung Gu birdied his final two holes on day one to finish the round with four total.
Day two of the tournament is also scheduled for a shotgun start at 10:00 a.m. The top 18 teams after tomorrow's results will make the cut and continue to rounds three and four. The top six individuals not on those 18 teams will also advance to play for the individual title.
