May 15, 2008
Bremerton, Wash. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The 25th-ranked UCF men's golf team posted a score of 301 (+13) and is tied for 11th with UNLV after first-round action of the NCAA West Regional on Thursday at the Gold Mountain Golf Club. Senior Giwon Suh (Orlando, Fla.) led the Knights with a 74 (+2) on the 7,111-yard layout as the team combined for 12 birdies during the opening 18 holes.
"This is mountain golf with very fast greens and our guys had to get used to a different style of golf out here," head coach Nick Clinard said. "But, we hung in there and we are right in the middle of things after round one. It is no secret and our guys knows we have to putt better and play the par fives better to be successful."
The Knights were one-over on the par fives in the opening round and shaved three strokes off that total with a trio of birdies on the final one of the day - hole No. 14.
Junior Greg Forest (Palm City, Fla.) was one of three Knights with a trio of birdies on his round. Forest carded a 75 (+3), while junior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla.) birdied his final hole of the day to post a 76 (+4). Sophomore Mike Stern (Miami, Fla.) equaled Johnson with a 76 (+4) to round out the team scoring for UCF.
Oregon leads the team standings at 289 (+1), while a trio of Pac-10 teams, including host Washington, USC and UCLA, are tied for second with respective scores of 291 (+3). Second round action begins Friday morning.
The top 10 teams from the 27-team field advance to the NCAA Championship in Lafayette, Ind., May 28-31. Texas is the 10th-place team after day one and two strokes (299, +11) ahead of the Knights and Rebels.
UCF will tee off in the morning on Friday, joining Texas Tech and North Carolina for the second-consecutive day. Freshman Kyle Cobb will leads the Knights off 10th tee at 10:47 a.m. ET.
Live scoring for the three-day event will be available on www.golfstat.com.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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