Oct. 7, 2007
MACON, Ga. - The 45th ranked Kennesaw State men's golf team got out to a slow start but kept themselves in contention with solid afternoon play in the opening round of the inaugural Brickyard Collegiate Championship hosted by Mercer University at the par-72, 7,155 yard Brickyard at Riverside golf course in Macon, Ga. on Sunday.
The Owls posted a 13-over par 301 to finish in twelfth place in the deepest field they will all season. Kennesaw State is only one stroke behind 11th place Gonzaga and only 11 strokes out of the top half of the field.
"It was a tough day for us, we got off to a poor start and never fully recovered," said Kennesaw State head coach Blake Smart on his team's first round performance. "We have two days to make up some ground and come out of here with a good finish."
Michael Tulacz, who led the Black and Gold in the first round, finds himself tied for 23rd after finishing strong to card an even-par 72. The junior from Connelly, N.Y. eagled the par-five ninth hole his final hole of the day to pull him back to even-par.
Oliver West shot a 75 to finish in a tie for 44th while Wesley Sheard posted a four-over par 76 to finish tied for 53rd. Sophomore Bryan Alred posted the Owls final score. The transfer from Xavier shot a six-over par 78 and is tied for 62nd.
Clemson is the team leader after firing an 11-under par 277 while Harris English of UGA, who is playing as an individual, is the individual leader.
"The tournament is absolutely top-notch, the welcome has been amazing and the facilities are perfect," added Smart on the team's experience at the Brickyard.
Chris Johnson will tee-off at 8:30 a.m. on Monday to get the Owls second round underway. Alred will tee-off at 8:40 a.m. and play with a pair of golfers from Hartford while Sheard will start his round at 8:50 a.m. playing with JT Griffin of Georgia Tech and Nick MacDonald of Hartford. West will also play with a Yellow Jacket golfer, teeing off with Adam Cohan of Tech and Maki Kobayashi of Hartford. Tulacz will be the last Owl golfer to tee-off, playing with A.J. Oleksak of Hartford and Rob Bennett of UGA at 9:10 a.m.
