ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) -- Sophomore Donnie Trosper played very well in Sunday's first round at the prestigious Tavistock Collegiate Invitational.
Following his 4-under round of 68 at Isleworth Golf and Country Club, the Michigan native is tied for second place in a field with numerous highly-ranked teams and individuals. As a team, the Knights are in a tie for eighth place.
Trosper was even par through four holes. He got things going on the Par-3 fifth hole, draining a birdie putt to move to 1-under. Two holes later, he carded another birdie on the Par-5 seventh. He was 2-under at the turn. Trosper remained hot early in the back nine. He tallied the third of his four birdies on the Par-4 10th. He followed that up with his final birdie of the day on No. 13, a par-5. Trosper attributed the clean round with no bogeys to some good breaks and remaining calm when things didn't go his way.
"Today was a good day," Trosper said. "I was pretty fortunate to get a lot of good breaks out there. I knew if I just stayed patient I'd get the ball rolling and get some birdies. I had a couple hiccups and I got over that by ... keeping my mind where it's supposed to be."
Three of Trosper's teammates -- Kyler Tate, Manuel Elvira and Bobby Bai -- all tallied scores of 75 (+3) and are tied for 43rd place. Trosper, Tate, Elvira and Bai accounted for the Knights' team score of 293 (+5). The Knights are only 10 strokes off the lead, currently held by Florida, which registered a first-round score of 283 (-5). Ryan Stovash was the fifth member of the UCF lineup. He is currently tied for 64th after posting a 78 (+6).
The Knights will begin play in Monday's second round at 8 a.m. Live scoring is available by clicking here.
