Dawgs Start Slow, Complete Round 1 at NCAA Regionals

The 12th-ranked Georgia men’s golf team fired a 6-over-par 294 to open play Thursday in the NCAA Colorado Regional.

The Bulldogs were one of six teams to complete Thursday’s opening round, which twice was delayed by inclement weather. The other seven teams will finish their loops on Friday before the second round begins.

Oklahoma State, the regional’s top seed, shot a 12-under 276 to grab the first-round lead. Needing a fifth-place or better finish in the regional to advance to the NCAA Championships, the second-seeded Bulldogs are sixth among the teams that completed the first round and are 11th factoring in the entire field.

“We left ourselves work to do,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “For whatever reason, we’ve been a slow-starting team this year – and we did it again today. We know what we’ve got to do over the next two days, so we just have to go out and do it.”

Sophomore T.J. Mitchell paced the Bulldogs with a 3-under 69, including closing birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. Mitchell is fourth individually, four shots behind Colorado State’s Zahkai Brown, who still has two holes to play.

Senior Harris English signed for an even-par 72, followed by senior Russell Henley at 2-over 74, and senior Hudson Swafford and sophomore Bryden Macpherson each at 7-over 79.

Conclusion of the first round will take place at 10 a.m., with the start of the second round set for 12:30 p.m. Live scoring can be found at golfstat.com.