Chacarra helps Oklahoma State get the jump as Columbus Regional tees off at Ohio State's Scarlet Course

    By the time I post this, the second round in most of the regionals will be complete, but I was too deep into it to not complete it. So, here’s a roundup of the opening round in all six regionals. A family obligation will prevent me from doing the second round, so I think I’ll just wait until the regionals are complete and post something before the women get going Friday in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. I’ll probably transcribe the second round to see how everything plays out. It’s going to be an exciting next couple of days, that’s for sure.

   They might have been the runnerup in another fiercely contested Big 12 Championship, but the Oklahoma State Cowboys arrived at The Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course for the Columbus Regional as the top seed and No. 2 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

   Oklahoma State looked every bit the top seed on one of the toughest campus golf courses in America as the Cowboys, behind Eugenio Chacarra, a sophomore Spain and No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), opened with a 4-under 280 over the 7,422-yard, par-71 Scarlet Course layout to take a six-shot lead Columbus Regional in the as the NCAA men’s regionals teed off all over America Monday.

   Chacarra carded a solid 2-under 69 and was in a tie for second place in the individual standings behind the leader, Julien Perico, a senior at Arkansas from Peru.

   Southern Conference champion East Tennessee State, ranked 30^th and seeded fifth, recorded a 2-over 286 and was in second place. The Bucs captured the team title as an eight seed in the Cle Elum Regional a year ago.

   Archie Davis, a redshirt sophomore from England and No. 80 in the WAGR, was tied for second place with Oklahoma State’s Chacarra as Davis also signed for a 2-under 69.

   Another upstart, San Francisco, ranked 61^st and seeded 10^th, was two shots behind East Tennessee State in third place with a 4-over 288. The Dons, out of the West Coast Conference, were led by Toby Briggs, a graduate student from England who joined Chacarra and countryman Davies in the trio tied for second place at 2-under 69.

   Atlantic Coast Conference representative Clemson, ranked 23^rd and seeded fourth, was a shot behind San Francisco in fourth place with a 5-over 289.

   Two other ACC teams, Georgia Tech, ranked 11^th and seeded second, and Duke, ranked 41^st and seeded seventh, and host Ohio State, a Big Ten entry ranked 35^th and seeded sixth, were all tied for fifth place, each landing on 6-over 290.

   The top five finishers in each regional will advance to the NCAA Championship later month this at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Backing up Chacarra for Oklahoma State were Aman Gupta, a senior from Concord, N.C. and No. 51 in the WAGR, and Bo Jin, a sophomore from China and No. 25 in the WAGR, both of whom were among the trio tied for fifth place at 1-under 70. Jin was the runnerup in the individual chase in the NCAA Championship a year ago at Grayhawk.

   Jonas Baumgartner, a sophomore from Germany, was in the group tied for eighth place as he matched par with a 71.

   Rounding out the Oklahoma State lineup was Brian Stark, a junior from Kingsburg, Calif. and No. 35 in the WAGR who was among the group tied for 14^th place with a 1-over 72.

   A couple of Penn State players, junior Patrick Sheehan, a scholastic standout at Central Bucks East, and graduate student Lou Olsakovsky, an Upper St. Clair product, are competing as individuals at the Scarlet Course.

   Sheehan landed in the group tied for 35^th place with a 3-over 74 and Olsakovsky was a shot behind his Nittany Lion teammate in the group tied for 51^st place with a 4-over 75.

   In the New Haven Regional, ACC champion Wake Forest, ranked 17^th and seeded third, and perennially underrated ASUN champion North Florida, ranked 39^th and seeded seventh, each carded a 13-under 267 over the 6,409-yard, par-70 Yale Golf Course layout, another of America’s classic campus courses, to share the lead after Monday’s opening round.

   Sun Belt Conference runnerup Georgia Southern, ranked 49^th and seeded 10^th, was three shots behind the top two in third place with a 10-under 270.

   Texas Tech, ranked eighth and seeded second out of the Big 12, was a shot behind Georgia Southern in fourth place with a 9-under 271.

   Wake Forest’s ACC rival North Carolina, ranked fifth and the top seed in New Haven, and Big Ten champion Illinois, ranked 20^th and seeded fourth, were tied for fifth place as each landed on 7-under 273.

   Alex Fitzpatrick, a senior from England and No. 7 in the WAGR, led the way for Wake Forest with a 4-under 66 that left him in the group tied for sixth place.

   Three Demon Deacons, Michael Brennan, a sophomore from Leesburg, Va., Parker Gilliam, a graduate student from Cary, N.C., and Mark Power, a junior from Ireland, all finished among the group tied for ninth place as each registered a 3-under 67.

   Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Scotty Kennon, a freshman from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. who was in the group tied for 1f5^th place with a 2-under 68.

   Leading the way for North Florida was Brandon Mancheno, a senior from Mandarin, Fla., who was part of a four-way tie for second place, a shot behind the leader, Illinois’ Piercen Hunt, a sophomore from Hartland, Wis., with a 5-under 65.

   Nick Grabelcik, a sophomore from Trinity, Fla. and No. 13 in the WAGR, was a shot behind his teammate in the group tied for 15^th place with a 4-under 66.

   Robbie Higgins, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., and Cody Carroll, a senior from Middleburg, Fla., each posted a 2-under 68 to join the group tied for 15^th place for the Ospreys.

   Rounding out the North Florida lineup was Davis Lee, a junior from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. who matched par with a 70 to join the group tied for 36^th place.

   Illinois’ Hunt mastered the C.B. Macdonald-Seth Raynor Yale Golf Course gem to grab the individual lead with a 4-under 66.

   The foursome that is tied for second place at 5-under 65 that includes North Florida’s Mancheno was headed by Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, a junior from Sweden and No. 2 in the WAGR. Aberg beat an absolutely loaded field to capture the Big 12 individual crown at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas.

   Rounding out the quartet tied for second place at 5-under were North Carolina’s Ryan Gerard, a sophomore from Raleigh, N.C., and Georgia Southern’s Mason Williams, a senior from Bridgeport, W.Va.

   Lafayette senior Ryan Tall, who starred scholastically at Conestoga and was the winner of the 2018 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship, teed it up as an individual at the Yale Golf Course and opened with a 2-over 72 to finish among the group tied for 53^rd place.

   Tall was the co-medalist in the Patriot League Championship with a 4-under 212 total at the Steel Club, the Donald Ross classic in Hellertown.

   Delaware’s Roberto Nieves, a senior from Miami, Fla., also teed it up in New Haven, posting a 7-over 77 that left him in 72^nd place.

    In the Palm Beach Regional, Southeastern Conference champion Vanderbilt, ranked No. 3 and the top seed, was the only team under par over the 7,048-yard, par-72 Champions Course layout at PGA National as the Commodores grabbed a five-shot lead with a 3-under 285 total.

   American Athletic Conference entry South Florida, ranked 40^th and seeded seventh, registered a 2-over 290 and was in second place. Notre Dame, ranked 15^th and seeded third out of the ACC, was two shots behind South Florida in third place with a 4-over 292.

   The top three in the team chase were each represented in the three-way tie for second place in the individual standings at 4-under 68. Vanderbilt’s Harrison Ott, a graduate student from Brookfield, Wis., Notre Dame’s Taichi Khu, a senior from China, and South Florida’s Sam Nicholson, a sophomore from Atlantic Beach, Fla., all trailed individual leader Nick Lyerly, a UNC Greensboro graduate student from Salisbury, N.C. and No. 68 in the WAGR, by a shot as Lylerly opened with a sparkling 5-under 67.

   Atlantic 10 champion Davidson, ranked 107^th and seeded 12^th, was a shot behind Notre Dame in fourth place with a 5-over 293.

   Vanderbilt’s SEC rival Florida, ranked 10^th and seeded second, and Colonial Athletic Association champion College of Charleston, ranked 53^rd and seeded ninth, were tied for fifth place a shot behind Davidson at 6-over 294.

   Backing up Ott for Vanderbilt was Cole Sherwood, a sophomore from Austin, Texas and No. 49 in the WAGR who carded a 1-under 71 that left him alone in ninth place. Sherwood’s match win gave the Commodores a 3-2 victory over Florida in the title match in the SEC Championship at the Sea Island Club’s Seaside Course on St. Simons Island, Ga.

   Senior Reid Davenport, another guy from Austin and No. 55 in the WAGR, gave the Commodores a third player inside the top 10 as he landed in the group tied for 10^th place by matching par with a 72.

   Gordon Sargent, a freshman from Birmingham, Ala. and No. 16 in the WAGR, signed for a 2-over 74 and was among the group tied for 22^nd place.

   Rounding out the Vanderbilt lineup was William Moll, a junior from Houston who ended up in the group tied for 54^th place with a 6-over 78.

   Notre Dame junior Palmer Jackson, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2018 as a senior at Franklin Regional and No. 38 in the WAGR, carded a 5-over 77 and was in the group tied for 46^th place.

   In the Norman Regional, host Oklahoma, the No. 1 team in the country and the top seed, took a one-   shot lead over SEC power South Carolina, ranked 24^th and seeded fourth, at the Sooners’ home course, the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

   Getting a 5-under 67 from Drew Goodman, a sophomore home boy from Norman, Okla., Oklahoma, the Big 12 champion, carded an 11-under 277. Goodman was tied for third place in the individual standings, a shot behind co-leaders J.M. Butler, a sophomore at Auburn from Louisville, Ky., and Gene Ziegler, a freshman at South Carolina from Florence, S.C., both of whom opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 over the 7,452-yard, par-72 Jimmie Austin layout.

   Behind Ziegler, South Carolina trailed Oklahoma by a shot with a solid 10-under 278 start.

   Another SEC power, Auburn, ranked 18^th and seeded third, and upstart Pac-12 representative Utah, ranked 50^th and seeded ninth, shared third place, each landing on 8-under 280.

   Oklahoma’s Big 12 rival Texas, ranked seventh and seeded second, was lurking in fifth place after opening with a 6-under 282 that left the Longhorns two shots behind Auburn and Utah.

   Backing up Gordon for Oklahoma was Patrick Welch, a senior from Aliso Viejo, Calif. and No. 70 in the WAGR who was in the group tied for fifth place with a 3-under 69.

   Chris Gotterup, a redshirt senior from Little Silver, N.J. and No. 28 in the WAGR, posted a 2-under 70 and was in the group tied for 11^th place. Logan McAllister, a senior from Oklahoma City, Okla. and No. 14 in the WAGR, was a shot behind Gotterup with a 1-under 71 that left him in the group tied for 18^th place.

   Rounding out the Oklahoma lineup was Stephen Campbell Jr., redshirt freshman from Richmond, Texas whose 2-over 74 left him among the group tied for 39^th place.

   Texas’ Travis Vick, a junior from Houston and No. 31 in the WAGR, led the way for the Longhorns as he joined Oklahoma’s Goodman in the tie for third place with a 5-under 67.

   Carson Bacha, the 2019 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Central York, is a sophomore at Auburn and made the lineup for the Norman Regional. Bacha registered a 1-over 73 that left him the group tied for 30^th place.

   In the Bryan Regional, Arizona, ranked 33^rd and seeded sixth, grabbed a three-shot lead over defending national champion Pepperdine with a 12-under 276 over the 7,146-yard, par-72 Traditions Golf Club.

   Arizona, a perennial Pac-12 power, was led by Chase Sienkiewicz, a junior from Sacramento, Calif. who fired a sizzling 7-under 65.

   The Waves, who won their fourth straight West Coast Conference crown, are ranked sixth and are the top seed in Bryan. Pepperdine opened with a solid 9-under 279 that left it in second place.

   The Waves were led by Derek Hitchner, a senior from Minneapolis and No. 71 in the WAGR who was in second place in the individual standings, two shots behind Sienkiewicz with a 5-under 67.

   Host Texas A&M, an SEC power that is ranked 12^th and seeded second, was a shot behind Pepperdine in third place with an 8-under 280 total. One of the Aggies’ SEC rivals, Georgia, ranked 13th and seeded third, was another shot behind them in fourth place with a 7-under 281 total.

   Oregon State, a surprising Pac-12 entry ranked 57^th and seeded 10^th, was four shots behind Georgia in fifth place, the Beavers opening with a solid 285.

   Backing up Sienkiewicz for Arizona was Christian Banke, a graduate student from Danville, Calif. who registered a 4-under 68 that left him in the group tied for third place. Sam Sommerhauser, a sophomore from Rocklin, Fla., recorded a 1-under 71 that left him the group tied for 16^th place.

   Johnny Walker, a freshman from Chandler, Ariz., matched par with a 72 and was in the group tied for 26th place. Rounding out the Arizona lineup was Chaz Aurilia, a junior from Phoenix, Ariz. who opened with a 77 to join the group tied for 58^th place.

   In the Stockton Regional, always dangerous Stanford, led by two of the four co-leaders, Barclay Brown, a junior from England and No. 62 in the WAGR, and Henry Shimp, a sixth-year player from Charlotte, N.C., grabbed a one-shot lead over Pac-12 rival Arizona State with a 10-under 278.

   Brown and Shimp, a veteran of Stanford’s run to the national championship in 2019, each opened with a 4-under 68 at The Reserve at Spanos Park, which measures 7,315 yards and plays to a par of 72. That helped the Cardinal, ranked 16^th and seeded third, jump in front.

   Arizona State, ranked fourth and the top seed in Stockton, also got a 68 from Josele Luis Ballester, a freshman from Spain, as the Sun Devils carded a 8-under 279.

   Summit League champion Denver, ranked 108^th and seeded 12^th, was three shots behind Arizona State in third place with a solid 6-under 282. Brigham Young, the runnerup to Pepperdine in the WCC Championship, was two shots behind Denver in fourth place with a 4-under 284. The Cougars are ranked 46^th and seeded eighth.

   SEC power LSU, ranked 21^st and seeded fourth, and ASUN entry Liberty were tied for fifth place, three shots behind BYU as each registered a 1-under 287.

   Backing up Brown and Shimp for Stanford were Michael Thorbjornsen, a sophomore from Wellesley, Mass. and No. 26 in the WAGR, and Karl Vilips, a sophomore from Australia and No. 86 in the WAGR, both of whom landed on 1-under 71 and were in a group tied for 19^th place.

   Thorbjornsen was the winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 2018 at Baltusrol Golf Club, the classic layout in Springfield, N.J. Vilips was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Ethan Ng, a senior from New York City who was in the group tied for 30^th place as he matched par with a 72.

   Rounding out the quartet tied for first place at 4-under was Southern California’s Jackson Rivera, a freshman from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Rivera is competing as an individual as this is a rare spring that does not include the Trojans competing as a team in an NCAA regional.

   Austin Barbin, a junior at Liberty from Elkton, Md., teed it up for the Flames in Stockton, but struggled in the opening round with a 6-over 78 that left him alone in 70^th place. Barbin, winner of GAP’s Junior Boys’ Championship in 2019, began his college career at Maryland before transferring to Liberty.