Vick helps Texas jump in front in opening round of Noblesville Regional

    It’s been two springs since a young Texas team stormed to the Final Match of the 2019 NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. only to fall to an experienced bunch from Stanford.

   In between there was a year of total frustration when the coronavirus pandemic reached our shores and brought the wraparound 2019-2020 season to an abrupt halt. It’s one thing to get beat by a better team or to have a bad day at an inopportune time, but to never get the chance to compete because of an unseen virus, that’s a whole different thing.

   With talented Travis Vick, a sophomore from Houston and No. 63 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), leading the way by taking the individual lead with a 4-under-par 68 at The Sagamore Golf Club in rainy Indiana, Texas, No. 5 in the latest Golfstat rankings and the top seed, took the first step toward a return to the NCAA Championship by grabbing the lead in opening round of the Noblesville Regional Monday with a 6-under 282.

   It probably didn’t hurt that Texas’ top two players, Pierceson Coody, a junior from Plano, Texas and No. 2 in the WAGR, and Cole Hammer, a junior from Houston and No. 13 in the WAGR, were just more than a week removed from helping the United States claim an emotional 14-12 victory over Great Britain & Ireland in an unusual spring edition of the Walker Cup Match at iconic Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla.

   That Walker Cup theme will come up a few more times as I attempt to wrap up all six NCAA regionals that teed off Monday all around the country as players from both the victorious U.S. team and a gallant GB&I side are scattered on top college teams all over the place. Not surprisingly, I might add.

   Pierceson Coody backed up Vick with a solid 2-under 70 over the 7,173-yard, par-72 Sagamore layout to land in the group tied for fourth place. Hammer was another shot back with a 1-under 71 that left him in the group tied for 11^th place.

   Parker Coody, Pierceson’s twin brother and No. 71 in the WAGR, landed in the group tied for 26^th place with a 1-over 73. The Coody twins are the grandsons of Charles Coody, who celebrated the 50^th anniversary of his 1971 Masters victory this spring. Rounding out the Texas lineup was Mason Nome, a sophomore from France who landed among the group tied for 58^th place with a 5-over 77.

   No. 18 Tennessee, the third seed out of the Southeastern Conference, shared second place with always underrated North Florida, ranked 19^th and seeded fourth, and Atlantic Coast Conference power North Carolina, ranked eighth and seeded second, all three teams landing on 3-under 285.

   Another ACC entry, Louisville, ranked 20^th and seeded fifth, was alone in fifth place after matching par with a 288.

   The top five teams and one individual not on one of those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 28 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   North Florida’s Nick Infanti, a graduate student from Clarksburg, Md., and Louisville’s Max Kennedy, a freshman from Ireland, were tied for second place in the individual standings, each a shot behind Vick with a 3-under 69.

   In the Tallahassee Regional, ACC runnerup and host Florida State, ranked second and seeded first, grabbed the lead after the opening round with a sparkling 17-under 271 at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club.

   The Seminoles were led by their U.S. Walker Cupper as John Pak, a senior from Scotch Plains, N.J. and No. 3 in the WAGR, carded a 5-under 67 over the 7,505-yard, par-72 Seminole Legacy layout to land in a tie for second place in the individual standings.

   Florida State’s ACC rival, Georgia Tech, ranked 27^th and seeded fifth, was six shots behind the Seminoles in second place with a solid 11-under 277. ASUN Championship winner Liberty, ranked 10^th and seeded third, was another six shots behind Georgia Tech in third place with a 5-under 283.

   Big Ten upstart Ohio State, ranked 62^nd and seeded 11^th, held down fourth place, a shot behind Liberty with a 4-under 284. SEC power Georgia, ranked 11^th and seeded second, was a shot behind the Buckeyes in fifth place with a 3-under 285.

   Backing up Pak for Florida State were Vincent Norrman, a graduate student from Sweden and No. 14 in the WAGR, Brett Roberts, a freshman from Coral Springs, Fla., and Cole Anderson, a redshirt sophomore from Camden, Maine, all of whom were among the group tied for fifth place, each signing for a 4-under 68.

   Liberty’s Kieran Vincent, a redshirt junior from Zimbabwe, grabbed the individual lead with a sizzling 7-under 65.

   Joining Pak in the trio tied for second place in the individual chase at 5-under, two shots behind Vincent, were Pak’s U.S. Walker Cup teammate Davis Thompson, a senior at Georgia from Auburn, Ala. and No. 4 in the WAGR, and Jacksonville’s Michael Sakane, a redshirt junior from Japan.

   Zach Barbin, who claimed a pair of Golf Association of Philadelphia major championships last summer – the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Lancaster Country Club and the Patterson Cup at The 1912 Club – contributed a 1-under 71 to Liberty’s strong showing that left him in the group tied for 19^th place. Barbin, one of the golfing Barbins of Elkton, Md., represented Loch Nairn Golf Club in his two major GAP wins last summer.

   In the Kingston Springs Regional, ACC power North Carolina State, ranked 10^th and seeded second, and perennial Mid-American Conference power Kent State, ranked 46^th and seeded eighth, shared the opening-round lead, each posting a 7-under 277 at the Golf Club of Tennessee.

   SEC champion Vanderbilt, ranked 13^th and seeded third, and upstart Houston, ranked 61^st and seeded 10^th, were tied for third place, each carding a 5-under 279 over the 7,107-yard, par-71 Golf Club of Tennessee layout. It was another two shots back to San Diego State, ranked 26^th and seeded fifth, in fifth place with a 3-under 281.

   Leading the way for N.C. State was Maximilian Steinlechner, a sophomore from Austria, who registered a solid 5-under 66 that left him alone in second place, a shot behind individual leader Reid Davenport, a junior at Vanderbilt from Austin, Texas who fired a sparkling 6-under 65.

   The Wolfpack’s pair of returning graduate students, Benjamin Shipp of Duluth, Ga. and Christian Salzer of Sumter, S.C., backed up Steinlechner with solid efforts. Shipp’s 2-under 69 left him in the group tied for eighth place while Salzer was among the group tied for 15^th place with a 1-under 70.

   Rounding out the N.C. State lineup were Easton Paxton, a senior from Riverton, Wyo., and Carter Graf, a sophomore from Canada, both of whom joined the group tied for 29^th place, each carding a 1-over 72.

   Leading the way for Kent State was Will Kurtz, a senior from Hudson, Ohio who was tied for third place with Loyola of Maryland’s Evan Brown -- yes, followers of Ches-Mont League golf, that Evan Brown -- at 4-under 67, a shot behind Steinlechner.

   Backing up Kurtz for the Golden Flashes was Chris Vendette, a sophomore from Canada who signed for a 3-under 68 to join the group tied for fifth place. Cade Breitenstine, a sophomore from Akron, Ohio, and James Wilson, a junior from Columbiana, Ohio, were Kent State’s two other counters, each matching par with a 71 to end up among the group tied for 19^th place.

   Rounding out the Kent State lineup was Josh Gilikson, a senior from Springboro, Ohio who posted a 1-over 72 to land in the group tied for 29^th place.

   Brown, who starred scholastically at Kennett, helped Loyola of Maryland capture the Patriot League title and the Greyhounds are seeded 11^th in the Kingston Springs Regional. They are in 11^th place following an opening round of 13-over 297. Brown, however, put himself in contention for that one individual berth to nationals with his opening round of 4-under 67.

   In the Albuquerque Regional, Pac-12 upstart Oregon State, ranked 41^st and seeded seventh, took the lead following an opening round of 7-under 281 on the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico.

   Big 12 representative Texas Tech, ranked 22^nd and seeded fourth, was two shots behind the Beavers in second place with a 5-under 283. Host New Mexico, ranked 29^th and seeded fifth, and the SEC’s Texas A&M, ranked 14^th and seeded third, were tied for third place, each registering a 4-under 284.

   Oregon State’s Pac-12 rival Arizona State, ranked 12^th and seeded second, was in a tie for fifth place with another SEC entry, South Carolina, ranked 51^st and seeded ninth, and Nevada, ranked 63^rd and seeded 10^th, each posting a 3-under 285.

   Oregon State was led by Jackson Lake, a sophomore from Clovis, Calif. who carded a 4-under 68 to join the group tied for third place. Shawn Lu, a sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, and Spencer Tibbits, a senior from Vancouver, Wash., backed up Lake as they each carded a 3-under 69 to join the group tied for seventh place.

   Kyosuke Hara, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, was the final counter for Oregon State as he posted a 3-over 75 to land among the group tied for 49^th place. Rounding out the Oregon State lineup was Carson Barry, a junior from Eagle, Idaho whose 4-over 76 left him in the group tied for 57^th place.

   Top-seeded and No.-1 ranked Oklahoma struggled to a 1-over 289 that left it in a tie for ninth place in the team standings, but the Sooners were represented at the top of the individual leaderboard by Jonathan Brightwell, a redshirt senior from Charlotte, N.C. who fired a 6-under 66.

   Nevada’s Sean Meek, a senior from Canada, was a shot behind Brightwell in second place with a 5-under 67.

   South Carolina got a solid showing from sophomore Jack Wall, who plays out of the Manasquan River Golf Club at the Jersey Shore and was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall. Wall’s 2-over 74 left him among the group tied for 40^th place.

   Stanford, winner of that 2019 NCAA Championship at The Blessings, opened with a 1-under 287 that left the sixth-seeded Cardinal in eighth place in the Albuquerque Regional.

   Senior Nate Menon, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Wyomissing, contributed a 1-over 73 for Stanford that left him in the group tied for 45^th place.

   In the Cle Elum Regional, top-seeded Wake Forest, behind a 4-under 67 from one of its two GB&I Walker Cuppers, Alex Fitzpatrick, a junior from England and No. 11 in the WAGR, gained a share of the lead with San Francisco as each posted a 6-under 278 in the opening round at the Tumble Creek Course at Suncadia Resort in Washington.

   The Demon Deacons, out of the ACC, are ranked sixth and are the top seed in the Cle Elum Regional. San Francisco, out of the West Coast Conference, is ranked 25^th and is seeded fifth.

   West Coast Conference champion Pepperdine was ranked No. 1 by Golfstat when the 2019-’20 season came to a sudden end a year ago. The Waves, ranked seventh and seeded second, registered a 5-under 279 over the 7,069-yard, par-71 Tumble Creek layout and are in third place, a shot behind the co-leaders.

   The Pac-12’s Washington, ranked 37^th and seeded seventh, shared fourth place with perennial Southern Conference champion East Tennessee State, ranked 50^th and seeded eighth, each posting a 4-under 280.

   Backing up Fitzpatrick for Wake Forest was Parker Gilliam, a sophomore from Cary, N.C. who carded a 3-under 68 to join the group tied for third place. Eric Bae, a graduate student from Pinehurst, N.C. and No. 65 in the WAGR matched par with a 71 and was among the group tied for 21^st place.

   Fitzpatrick’s GB&I Walker Cup teammate, Mark Power, a sophomore from Ireland and No. 28 in the WAGR, was the final counter for the Demon Deacons as he registered a 1-over 72 to join the group tied for 32^nd place. Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Michael Brennan, a freshman from Leesburg, Va. who was in the group tied for 43^rd place with a 2-over 73.

   San Francisco was led by Christoffer Dalsson, a junior from Sweden who grabbed a share of the individual lead with Washington’s Petr Hruby, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, as each lit up the Tumble Creek layout with a 5-under 66.

   Backing up Hruby for the Dons was Tim Widing, a graduate student from Sweden who was among the group tied for fourth place with a 3-under 68.

   San Francisco’s final two counters were delivered by Matthew Anderson, a junior from Canada, and Toby Briggs, a senior from England, each posting a 1-over 72 to land among the group tied for 32^nd place.

   Rounding out the San Francisco lineup was Soren Lind, a senior from Denmark who was among the group tied for 43^rd place with a 2-over 73.

   In the Stillwater Regional, tournament officials saw an iffy weather forecast for the rest of the week and said: Let’s play two. After a double round Monday, they will try to complete the Stillwater Regional Tuesday.

   Not that it mattered much to Big 12 champion Oklahoma State, ranked fourth and the top seed playing on its home course, Karsten Creek Golf Club, where the Cowboys rolled to victory in the 2018 NCAA Championship. Oklahoma State surged to a 17-under 271 over the 7,502-yard, par-72 Karsten Creek layout in Monday afternoon’s second round to take a two-shot lead over Big Ten champion Illinois, ranked ninth and seeded second.

   The Cowboys had matched par in the opening round with a 288 and trailed the Fighting Illini by two shots. But their dazzling afternoon round left them with a 17-under 559 total. After opening with a 2-under 286, Illinois posted a pretty strong 13-under 275 of its own in the afternoon that left it two shots behind Oklahoma State with a 15-under 561 total.

   American Athletic Conference runnerup SMU, ranked 21^st and seeded fourth, was another nine shots behind Illinois in third place with a 6-under 570 total. The Mustangs were led by individual leader Noah Goodwin, a sophomore from Corinth, Texas and No. 31 in the WAGR.

   It was only a matter of time before Goodwin, winner of the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Flint Hills Golf Club in Andover, Kan., put it together at the collegiate level. It seems to be happening as he added a 5-under 67 to a sparkling opening-round 66 for an 11-under 133 total that was five shots clear of the field.

   Oklahoma State was led by Bo Jin, the runnerup in the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Jin, a freshman from China and No. 86 in the WAGR, fired a sizzling 7-under 65 in the afternoon after opening with a 74 and was in third place, six shots behind Goodwin at 5-under 139.

   Austin Eckroat, another member of the winning U.S. side in the Walker Cup Match, and Eugenio Chacarra, a sophomore from Spain and No. 33 in the WAGR, backed up Jin as each landed among the group tied for ninth place at 3-under 141. Eckroat, No. 12 in the WAGR and a contributor to the Cowboys’ 2018 national champions, added a 71 to his opening round of 2-under 70. Chacarra added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 71.

   Aman Gupta, a sophomore from Concord, N.C., landed in the group tied for 15^th place as he added a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 73 and was among the group tied for 15^th place at even-par 144. Gupta was a hard-luck loser to eventual champion Tyler Strafaci in the U.S. Amateur semifinals at the Bandon Dunes Resort last summer.

   Not sure how this works, but Oklahoma State went to its bench after Jonas Baumgartner, a freshman from Germany, carded a 3-over 75 in the opening round, and found another freshman, Brian Stark of Kingsburg, Calif., and all Stark did was match Jin’s 7-under 65 to help fuel the Cowboys’ second-round surge.

   Sam Houston’s William Holcomb, a senior from Crockett, Texas, added a 70 to his opening-round 68 and was alone in second place in the individual standings with a 6-under 138. Holcomb was the darling of the 2019 U.S. Amateur at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, where he made a run to the semifinals.

   Notre Dame, the fifth seed out of the ACC, was in a tie for ninth place at 19-over 595 after adding a 6-over 294 to its opening-round 301.

   The Fighting Irish got a solid showing out of sophomore Palmer Jackson, the 2018 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Franklin Regional. Jackson, a quarterfinalist in that 2019 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst, added a 1-over 73 to his opening-round 74 to join the group tied for 30^th place at 3-over 147.