Oct. 27, 2013
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – University of Notre Dame junior men’s golfer Tyler Wingo picked the right time to fire his best career collegiate round, turning in a four-under-par 68 Sunday to place second in the field on day one of The Invitational at The Ocean Course. Wingo’s strong round put the Irish in seventh place after an opening team score of 301.
Starting his round at the 10th hole, Wingo shook off an opening hole bogey with a pair of birdies at the par 5 11th and 16th holes to make the turn in 35 (-1). A birdie at the par 5 2nd hole pushed the Fairfax, Va., native to two-under for the round.
Wingo traded a birdie at hole four for a bogey at hole five, but responded with back-to-back birdies at holes seven and eight to come in with a back side three-under 33 (35-33-68). He birdied each of the four par 5s on The Ocean Course during the round, and after missing the green at No. 10 hit the final 17 greens in regulation.
Senior tri-captain Niall Platt made a total of three birdies during his opening round, but could not shake off three back-nine bogeys to close with a four-over 76 and a share of 33rd place. Sophomore Cory Sciupider logged four birdies during his first round Sunday, ultimately firing an opening 78 to place in a tie for 48th.
Freshman Matt Rushton carded an opening 79 (tied for 54th place) and junior Patrick Grahek a score of 80 (tied for 61st place) to round out the Notre Dame starting five.
Kentucky opened a three-shot advantage in the team draw of the tournament after a combined score of even par 288 to take the overnight lead. South Florida claimed second place with a three-over-par 291, followed by South Alabama in third place (294, +6). Charleston Southern and Georgia tied for fourth place after firing matching scores of 297.
Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston, the No. 7 player in the country according to GolfStat, birdied seven holes during his first round to fire a five-under-par 67 and take the day one lead by one shot over Wingo. South Florida’s Richard James carded a bogey-free three-under 69 to finish in third with three players, David Denlinger (Charleston Southern), Tyler Klava (South Alabama) and Cody Martin (Kentucky) in a tie for fourth place following rounds of two-under-par 70.
The second round of The Invitational at The Ocean Course is scheduled to being Monday at 7:50 a.m. (ET). Players will tee off the first and 10th holes simultaneously to begin play.
The Invitational at The Ocean Course-Kiawah Island, S.C.-Par-72, 7,051 Yds.
TOP-10 TEAMS (After Round 1): 1. Kentucky 288, E; 2. South Florida 291, +3; 3. South Alabama 294, +6; T4. Charleston Southern 297, +9; T4. Georgia 297, +9; 6. Florida 300, +12; 7. Notre Dame 301, +13; 8. Georgia Southern 302, +14; 9. Western Carolina 304, +16; 10. Michigan 305, +17.
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS (After Round 1): 1. J.T. Poston (Western Carolina) 67, -5; 2. Tyler Wingo (Notre Dame) 68, -4; 3. Richard James (South Florida) 69, -3; T4. David Denlinger (Charleston Southern) 70, -2; T4. Tyler Klava (South Alabama) 70, -2; T4. Cody Martin (Kentucky) 70, -2; 7. Lukas Crisp (Francis Marion) 71, -1; T8. Chase Koepka (South Florida) 72, E; T8. Josh Lorenzetti (College of Charleston) 72, E; T8. Lee McCoy (Georgia) 72, E; T8. Ryan Orr (Florida) 72, E; T8. Ben Stow (Kentucky) 72, E.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (After Round 1): 2. Tyler Wingo 68, -4; T33. Niall Platt 76, +4; T48. Cory Sciupider 78, +6; T54. Matt Rushton 79, +7; T61. Patrick Grahek 80, +8; 78. Blake Barens * 88, +16.
*- played as an individual
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