Men’s Golf in Second after Day One at All-American Intercollegiate

HOUSTON – Battling wet and windy conditions throughout the day, the University of Houston Men's Golf program stood in second place with a score of 586 following the first day of the All-American Intercollegiate at Golf Club of Houston on Monday evening.

Senior Braxton Watkins lead the Cougars on the individual leaderboard and was tied for fifth at 143 after shooting a 71 in the morning session.

Starting his day off No. 1 on the 7,067-yard, par-72 course, Watkins made birdie on his first hole of the day but ran into trouble with two bogeys on his next three holes.

Fortunately, the Winthrop, Ark., native rallied with eight straight pars before sinking back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13-14 and finished the First Round at 71.

In the afternoon session, Watkins drained pars on his first 11 holes and then made birdies on three of his next four holes on the way to a 72. He joined Florida State's Daniel Bradbury and UTSA's Hunter Bott in a tie for fifth.

Playing as an individual, junior Austyn Reily was tied for eighth at even-par 144 after shooting 72 in each round. The Pottsboro, Texas, native stood at +3 through his first nine holes in the First Round but rallied with three birdies in his next five holes, including back-to-back efforts on Nos. 12-13 to finish the first 18 holes at even par.

In the afternoon, Reily again stood at +2 through his first nine holes but drained three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the way to his second 72 of the day.

Making his first appearance at the All-American Intercollegiate, junior transfer Marcus Wochner joined Watkins and Reily among the Top-15 leaders, tying for 11^th at 145.

No. 33 Florida State held the first-day lead at 569 to stand 17 strokes ahead of the Cougars. North Texas (586), Sam Houston State (586) and Mississippi State (590) rounded out the Top-Five leaders.

Florida State's Frederik Kjettrup and Sam Houston State's Bret Gray were tied for the individual lead through 36 holes after shooting 141. Mississippi State's Ruan Pretorius and Florida State's Cole Anderson were tied for third at 142.

The tournament wraps up with the final 18 holes beginning with an 8 a.m., shotgun start Tuesday.

Senior Alexander Frances was tied for 23^rd at 148, while redshirt freshman Jacob Borow was tied for 52^nd at 153. Senior Andrew Gibson was tied for 69^th at 156.

Playing as individuals, senior Laurence Crea was tied for 56^th at 154, while redshirt freshman Drew Murdock and sophomore Hanseung Chang were tied for 88^th at 162. Freshman Julio Rios-Brache was tied for 99^th at 169.

LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at the All-American Intercollegiate by clicking here.

PAIRINGS
For Tuesday's Final Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Florida State.

Frances and Borow begin the day in the first group off No. 1 with Watkins and Wochner (second group off No. 1), Gibson (No. 2),

Fans can find complete pairings by clicking here.

UP NEXT
Following the All-American Intercollegiate, the team will host the prestigious Valspar Collegiate Invitational at The Floridian Golf Club on March 28-29. That tournament annually features the nation's top collegiate programs.

From there, the Cougars will tee off at the Aggie Invitational at Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas, on April 9-10.

JOIN PROJECT 17
Fans are invited to join Project 17 to support Houston Men's Golf. Project members provide financial support directly to Houston Men's Golf for needs beyond the program's operating budget.

For information about Project 17 or to join, fans can click here.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.

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