Behind Walker's 71, North Carolina is tied for third as Bryan National Collegiate tees off

   With former Radnor High standout Brynn Walker leading the way with a 1-under-par 71, North Carolina, No. 36 in the latest Golfstat rankings, is tied for third after Friday’s opening round of the Bryan National Collegiate at the Bryan Park Champions Course in Browns Summit, N.C.

   The Tar Heels carded a solid 3-over 291 over the 6,305-yard, par-72 Bryan Park layout to get a share of third with Atlantic Coast Conference rival Virginia, ranked 15^th.

   It was an ACC party at Bryan Park, as red-hot Wake Forest, the defending champion and probably a little underrated at No. 12, broke the Bryan National Collegiate single-round record with a scorching 14-under 274 to take the lead in the team standings. Another ACC entry, North Carolina State, probably also a little underrated at No. 57, was the only other team to break par as the Wolfpack carded a 3-under 285 and are in second place, 11 shots behind Wake Forest and six ahead of North Carolina and Virginia.

   Charlotte, again, probably a little underrated at No. 72, was another shot behind North Carolina and Virginia in fifth place at 4-over 292, No. 50 Virginia Tech was in sixth place at 7-over 295 and No. 55 Ohio State, out of the Big Ten, was in seventh place in the 17-team field at 8-over 296.

   Wake Forest was led by its two studs as Emilia Migliacco, a sophomore from Cary, N.C. and the No. 18 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), grabbed the individual lead with a sparkling 5-under 67 and Jennifer Kupcho, a senior from Westminster, Colo. and the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR, was tied for second, a shot behind Migliacco after carding a 4-under 68.

   Oh yeah, and just for good measure, the player tied with Kupcho for second was the Demon Deacons’ Letizia Bagnoli, a rapidly improving freshman from Italy. And Siyun Liu, a junior from China, made it four Demon Deacons in the top seven as she joined the group of six players tied for seventh at 1-under 71 that included North Carolina’s Walker.

   With four players bettering par, Wake Forest matched its program record with its 14-under total. The Demon Deacons established that mark a couple of weeks ago when a final-round 274 enabled them to pull away for an 18-shot victory in the Tar Heel Classic hosted by Suzy Whaley at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.

   Kupcho won the individual title with a spectacular 14-under 202 at Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog Course.

   Kupcho and Magliacco will tee it up in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur Invitational, which tees off Wednesday at the Champions Retreat Golf Club. I’m going to go out on a sturdy limb here and say that the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR will be favored to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Invitational, which concludes April 6 at Augusta National Golf Club. The National will look its April best with the Masters Tournament getting under way the following week.

   Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Vanessa Knecht, a freshman from Switzerland who joined the group tied for 16^th at 1-over 73.

   Sitting in fourth place in the individual standings was North Carolina State’s India Clyburn, a senior from England and a member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that fell to Kupcho’s United States team in last summer’s Curtis Cup Match at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. Clyburn carded a 3-under 69 that left her a shot behind Kupcho and Bagnoli.

   Clyburn’s N.C. State teammate, Laura Kowohl, a senior from Germany, and Charlotte’s Ashley Fowler, a sophomore from Germany, are tied for fifth at 2-under 70.

   Joining Wake Forest’s Liu and North Carolina’s Walker in the logjam tied for seventh at 1-under 71 were Virginia Tech’s Emily Maher, a sophomore from Australia, Oregon State’s Ellie Slama, a sophomore from Salem, Ore., Virginia’s Morgan Gonzales, a senior from Chandler, Ariz., and Charlotte’s Jillian Farrell, a sophomore from Scotland.

   Walker, coming off a tie for ninth in the Tar Heel Classic at Casa de Campo, offset four bogeys with five birdies, including three straight on the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th holes. Walker captured the 2014 and 2015 PIAA Class AAA titles during her career at Radnor.

   Backing up Walker for North Carolina was Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China who matched par with a 72 to join the group tied for 13^th. Nicole Lu, a freshman from Taiwan, was another shot behind Zhou with a 1-over 73 that left her in the group tied for 16^th.

   Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, posted a 3-over 75 to join the group tied for 39^th. Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Kelly Whaley, the Tar Heels’ senior leader from Farmington, Conn. who carded a 4-over 76 to end up among the group tied for 46^th.

   Whaley got into a groove when she finished tied for fifth in the Bryan National Collegiate a year ago that lasted for the rest of the spring. North Carolina coach Jan Mann wouldn’t mind seeing Whaley get on a similar roll as she plays the final weeks of what has been a stellar college career.

   Mann brought along Mariana Ocano, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., to compete as an individual and Ocano carded an 80 that left her among the group tied for 77^th.

   Also at that number was Georgetown junior Katie Evanko, who starred scholastically at Unionville. Evanko and the reigning Big East champion Hoyas carded a 27-over 315 and are in 16^th place in the team standings.