Miller's 69 Highlights Day One For No. 12/14 Kent State At U.S. Collegiate
10/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Golden Flashes tied for 10th after round one 295
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Playing amongst perfect fall conditions and slick, sensational greens junior Kevin Miller (Dover, Ohio) shot a three-under 69 to pace No. 12/14 Kent State on Sunday. Behind Miller's performance, the Golden Flashes shot 7-over par 295 and are tied for 10th after the first round of the 6th United States Collegiate Championship at par 72 The Golf Club of Georgia.
Miller is three shots off the lead currently held by Steve Lim of USC who had a first round 66. The Kent State junior is tied for fifth along with three others that includes UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, the world's No.1-ranked amateur, defending champion James White of Georgia Tech, and Auburn's Michael Johnson. He made his way to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday by turning in a round that consisted of four birdies and just one bogey (No. 12). Three of the four birdies came in succession on the back nine on holes No. 14-15-16.
Already with four top 20 finishes to his credit this season, sophomore Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ontario) is tied for 21st after an even par 72. Pendrith had three birdies against one bogey and one double bogey.
Senior Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ontario), and sophomore Corey Conners (Listowel, Ontario) produced the other two counters for the Golden Flashes on Sunday as each shot a 5-over 77. Hughes birdied No. 1, but that was the only red on his scorecard today as he bogeyed two holes on the front and made two double bogeys on the back. Conners meanwhile made his second birdie of the day on No. 18 to complete a round that also consisted of three bogeys and two double bogeys.
The final round hero with a 67 at the Bank of Tennessee, sophomore Kyle Kmiecik (Avon, Ohio) opened the U.S. Collegiate with a 78.
USC and No. 4 Auburn shared lead at 6-under-par 282 over a 14 team field that includes 11 teams ranked in the top 30 by golfstat.com. Kent State, which is tied with Wake Forest is one shot back of No. 19 Clemson in ninth and two back of No. 29 Iowa in eighth.
The 54-hole tournament, which debuted in 2006, concludes Tuesday on The Golf Club of Georgia's Lakeside Course. Second-round tee times begin Monday at 9 a.m. Tournament information can be found at www.TheUSCC.org or www.golfstat.com.
Kent State begins second round tee times at 9:50 a.m.. The Golden Flashes will be paired with No. 6 Washington and No. 13 Virginia.
Follow the team on Twitter @KentStGolf.
Kent State R1 - = Total
T5 Kevin Miller (3) 69 = 69
T21 Taylor Pendrith (2) 72 = 72
T60 Corey Conners (5) 77 = 77
T60 Mackenzie Hughes (1) 77 = 77
T67 Kyle Kmiecik (4) 78 = 78
Rk team R1 = Total
T1 USC 282 282 -6
T1 4 Auburn 282 282 -6
3 27 Duke 283 283 -5
4 12 Georgia Tech 284 284 -4
5 7 Florida State 286 286 -2
T6 24 UCLA 288 288 E
T6 6 Washington 288 288 E
8 29 Iowa 293 293 +5
9 19 Clemson 294 294 +6
T10 38 Wake Forest 295 295 +7
T10 14 Kent State 295 295 +7
12 12 Virginia 297 297 +9
13 26 Texas A&M 300 300 +12
14 East Tennessee State 304 304 +16
