Men's Golf Seventh After Day One, Laws Aces 13th
5/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. The Kent State University mens golf team put itself in solid position today after the opening round of the 2004 NCAA Central Regional at Birick Boilermaker Golf Complex-Kampen Course. The Golden Flashes posted the morning groups second-best score with a 301, bettered in the morning only by host Purdue University, and KSU is seventh of 27 teams after the first of three rounds. Junior Peter Laws (Mississauga, Ontario/Our Lady of Mount Carmel) highlighted the day with an ace on the 202-yard 13th hole, knocking in a seven iron.
"It was a mentally draining day out there," head coach Herb Page said. "You had to grind out bogeys and be happy with it on a lot of holes.
"But our round todays not going to hurt us. This is one of the hardest golf courses Ive played for a college golf tournament. It was as close to a U.S. Open setup as Ive seen."
Laws hole-in-one was the third in his lifetime and the first he posted in competition. "It was 202 yards down wind," Laws said following the round. "I hit seven iron, knowing a six would be too much and all the trouble was over the green. I put a good swing on it and it looked pretty good the whole way. The ball landed just in front of the cup and dropped in."
The 13th hole produced, in order, scores of 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for the Kent State quintet today. Freshman Marc Bourgeois (Dieppe, New Brunswick/Mathieu-Martin), the third KSU player to play the hole, had his tee shot hit the cup and lip out. He went on to make par. Playing behind him, sophomore Ryan Yip (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) made a 30-foot putt for birdie before Laws ace, which is believed to be the first in NCAA competition for Kent State.
Starting on No. 10, Laws went out in 2-over 38, but rallied for a two-under 34 on the second nine, including birdies and seven and eight before getting up-and-down out of a bunker to close his round at even-par 72. Laws currently sits in a tie for 10th place after round one. Yip is in a tie for 25th place after a 2-over 74. He had birdies on four birdies in his first 10 holes, shooting 37 on each side, tying his career-best round in a regoinal.
Bourgeois shot 38 on his front side and 39 on the back for a 5-over 77. The MAC Freshman of the Year, he is in tied for 58th place, playing in his first NCAA Central Regional. Junior Steve Lohmeyer (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) struggled to a 41 on the front side, but rallied with a 37 on the inward nine to shoot 78, and is in a tie for 70th place. Senior Chris Miller (New Philadelphia, Ohio/New Phildelphia) shot 83 and is in a tie for 122nd.
"Steve Lohmeyer was key for us today," Page said. "He hung in there and shot a good 78, which along with Laws hole-in-one and birdies on two of the last three holes really helped turn it around for us."
Oklahoma State University leads the tournament after a first-round score of 1-under 287. The Cowboys Casey Wittenberg, Jason Hartwick from the University of Texas and Texas A&M Universitys Andrew Parr lead the individual race, all at 3-under 69.
The second round of the NCAA Central Regional begins tomorrow, May 21, at 7:12 a.m. CT, with the Golden Flashes scheduled to tee off at 11:51 a.m. Tomorrows weather forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms with a high of 87 degrees.
Kampen Course at the Birick Boilermaker Golf Complex is a par-72, 7,261-yard, Pete Dye-designed layout on the Purdue campus. Team and individual scores follow.
Individuals Rounds=Total Score
T-1. Casey Wittenberg (Oklahoma State) 34-35=69 (-3)
T-1. Jason Hartwick (Texas) 34-35=69 (-3)
T-1. Andrew Parr (Texas A&M) 35-34=69 (-3)
T-10. Peter Laws 34-38=72 (E)
T-25. Ryan Yip 37-37=74 (+2)
T-58. Marc Bourgeois 39-38=77 (+5)
T-70. Steve Lohmeyer 37-41=78 (+6)
T-122. Chris Miller 44-39=83 (+11)
Team Results Rounds=Total Score
1. Oklahoma State 287=287 (-1)
2. Texas A&M 292=292 (+4)
3. Purdue 295=295 (+7)
T-4. Texas 298=298 (+10)
T-4. Kentucky 298=298 (+10)
6. Kansas State 300=300 (+12)
7. Kent State 301=301 (+13)
T-8. Ohio State 302=302 (+14)
T-8. Wichita State 302=302 (+14)
T-8. Minnesota 302=302 (+14)
T-8. SMU 302=302 (+14)
12. Colorado 304=304 (+16)
T-13. Oklahoma 305=305 (+17)
T-13. TCU 305=305 (+17)
15. Indiana 306=306 (+18)
T-16. Illinois 309=309 (+21)
T-16. Lamar 309=309 (+21)
18. Notre Dame 310=310 (+22)
19. Xavier 312=312 (+24)
T-20. Arkansas 314=314 (+26)
T-20. Tulsa 314=314 (+26)
22. Kansas 315=315 (+27)
23. Texas Tech 317=317 (+29)
24. Baylor 321=321 (+33)
T-25. Princeton 323=323 (+35)
T-25. Western Illinois 323=323 (+35)
27. Jackson State 333=333 (+45)
