Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Nearly a one-hour fog delay did not deter the Louisiana Tech Golf team as the first unit of Bulldogs fired off a program record -12 (276) to put themselves in a tie for second after the first round of the 10th annual Jim Rivers Intercollegiate on Sunday at Squire Creek Country Club.
“I was proud of both teams,” said head coach Matt Terry. “There was a lot of good golf play today. Other than just a few mistakes by the second team at the end of their round, today was successful by all 10 guys. We started talking in April about becoming a team that is a little bit more efficient and relentless. Just being cleaner when we play.
“I was very pleased with the attitude from the time I saw the players this morning through two fog delays. They never complained and had fun with Champ being here, our administration being here. That enjoyment is something they have embraced. They showed up and if we can do that every day, we can be a pretty good team.”
The team round score of 276 had been done twice previously, but this one came in the very first round of the 2022-23 season.
James Swash, the savvy fifth-year veteran for LA Tech, got off to the best start of the five by birdieing three of the first four holes (all pairings began their opening round on Hole 10). He ended up adding four more birdies to his card to cap off a team-best 67 (-5), putting him in a tie for fifth individually.
Behind him was Will Patrick who after playing the first nine holes at +2, got red hot in the front nine. The junior birdied four of the next five holes, including a sweeping putt from about 25 feet on Hole 5, a 175-yard Par 3. He came home in style by knocking in another 25-foot putt for eagle on Hole 9, a Par 5 playing at 546 yards, to end the day at 69 (-3).
The top Bulldog in the lineup, newcomer Thomas Henson, was steady all day. After parring his first five holes, the Central Missouri transferred chipped in for birdie on the Par 4, 427-yard Hole 15. He tacked up a couple more birdies to finish things off at 70 (-2).
Also carding a 70 (-2) was teammates Lake Juban who just like Henson only had one bogey on their scorecard. The senior posted three birdies in his round, including one on the final hole, to head into the clubhouse in the red.
Hunter Battles was the fifth man of the group with a 75 (+3). The senior battled through a tough opening start with bogeys on four of the first six holes. He settled in, managing the play the remainder of the round at even par.
The second unit, anchored by freshman Peyton Johnson who ended day one with a 69 (-3) on four birdies (all on the first nine holes) and one bogey, finished in 20th at 293 (+5).
The group was in the top 10 for a good portion of the day, but big numbers here and there wound up pushing them down in the rankings. Grant Smith, Joel Thomas Stephens and Payne Johnson all carded 76 (+4) while freshman Riley Hnatyshyn scored an even par 72 (E).
The first unit for LA Tech will be paired with ULM, who sits atop the leaderboard at 274 (-14), as well as Houston who also shot a 276 (-12) and Conference USA foe UTSA who carded a 277 (-11).
The second unit goes off first in the morning with Nicholls State, Abilene Christian and Francis Marion.
