April 29, 2007
Texarkana, Ark. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's golf team is tied with Rice in sixth place after the first round of the Conference USA Championship. The Knights trail leader Tulsa by 11 strokes after posting a 296 (+8) in the opening round at the Texarkana Country Club on Sunday.
Junior Giwon Suh (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) posted the best round for UCF as he carded a 72 (E) and is tied for 11th. Freshman Mike Stern (Miami, Fla./Killian) shot a 74 (+2) and led the Knights with four birdies in his opening 18 holes of the tournament. Stern is tied for 22nd.
Tulsa (285, -3) has a three-stroke lead on the field thanks in large part to a 68 (-4) from Ryan Henry, who holds a one-stroke lead on Memphis' Brad Benjamin (69, -3) and UAB's Garrett Osborne (69, -3). Benjamin and the Tigers are in second after a 288 (E).
The other four UCF golfers each had a pair of birdies on their cards as sophomores Greg Forest (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) and Preston Brown (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Nease) each turned in scores of 75 (+3). Freshman Nuno Henriques (Funchal, Portugal/The Pendleton School) logged a 76 (+4).
"We struggled to find a rhythm today and left some strokes out there especially coming in," head coach Nick Clinard said. "We have to regroup tonight and come out with a better effort tomorrow."
The 11-team field will resume the tournament on Monday with second-round play.
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Team Leaderboard - (First Round) Rank Team Totals 1 Tulsa 285 (-3) 2 Memphis 288 (E) 3 UTEP 291 (+3) 4 Southern Miss 293 (+5) 5 Houston 295 (+7) 6 UCF 296 (+8) Rice 296 (+8) 8 UAB 298 (+10) 9 Marshall 300 (+12) 10 SMU 301 (+13) 11 East Carolina 302 (+14)
Individual Leaderboard Rank Player (School) Total 1 Ryan Henry (Tulsa) 68 (-4) 2 Brad Benjamin (Memphis) 69 (-3) Garrett Osborne (UAB) 69 (-3) 4 Addison Awe (Rice) 70 (-2) 5 Six players tied 71 (-1)
UCF Individuals (Place) Giwon Suh (T11) 72 (E) Mike Stern (T22) 74 (+2) Preston Brown (T28) 75 (+3) Greg Forest (T28) 75 (+3) Nuno Henriques (T35) 76 (+4)