(Story courtesy of Trinity University Athletics)
WHEELING, W.Va. - The Trinity University men's golf team battled the Robert Trent Jones Course of the Speidel Golf Club to a 313 total in the first round of the 2021 NCAA III Championship at Oglebay Resort.
The Tigers faced the Par-71, 6,857-yard Speidel Jones Course along with the first tee-time of the tournament at 7:30 a.m. local time and an unexpected rain shower on the front nine before landing in a tie for 22nd with Trine University (IN), five strokes below the cutoff mark of 18th in the field. Trinity finished 10th-best amongst the 20 teams in the portion of the field that played the Jones Course.
The Rundown
Sophomore Zac Bunder paced the 2021 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champions with an overall 76 that included 10 pars and birdies on the par-five 5th and par-three 15th which led to Bunder's t-7th position among individuals on par-threes.
A pair of 77 tallies followed Bunder's performance as junior DJ Springer and sophomore Holden Wisener turned in their back-to-back six-over cards as the final two Tigers to tee off.
Springer recovered from an early stumble on the first hole as he held a three-over performance for the remainder of the course including a birdie on the par-four 16th. The Southlake, Texas-native is tied for sixth in the field with 13 pars.
Wisener stayed within reach of Bunder's front-nine pace at two-over before the turn. The first-slotted Tiger birdied the par-five 14th which put him tied at 13th among all players on par-five scoring to go along with 11 even holes.
To round out the Trinity five was a pair of 83 marks. Senior Bryce Pidgeon scored his round with an even pace between pars and bogeys while sophomore Daniel Nunez had a more-diverse scorecard as he worked to recover from a six-over start in the first three holes with birdies on the sixth, 13th and 18th, all of which are par-fours.
Coach Speak
"It was a rough start on day one for us as we drew the more-difficult course first, coupled with the morning rain," Head Coach Sean Etheredge said. "It was definitely a day for grinding out a good round as opposed to shooting a personal-best. We're excited for the Palmer Course tomorrow, and some better weather; looking forward to making a big move up the leaderboard."
Day Two
Trinity Men's Golf shifts to the Par-70, 6,621-yard Arnold Palmer Course at Oglebay on Wednesday. In anticipation of frigid weather for tomorrow's early tee-times, a frost delay of one hour has been put in place and is subject to additional change. The Tigers tee-off their second round at 11:50 a.m. ET.
