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University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Frosh Fires Low Round, Charlotte Leads Field By 6
May 14, 2015 | Men's Golf
CHAPEL HILL –– University of North Carolina freshman William Register (Burlington) shot a 6-under par 66 to lead the first round of the 2015 NCAA Chapel Hill Men's Golf Regional at UNC Finley Golf Course.
The Tar Heels are in fifth place after the first round. Charlotte had three players shoot 68 and fired a 13-under 275 to lead by six strokes. Florida was second at 7-under 281, Florida State and Clemson tied for third at 4-under 284 and the Tar Heels are fifth at 2-under 286.
“For our guys, I think we played pretty solid from start to finish, which is always nice,” says Charlotte head coach Ryan Cabbage. “We still have a long way to go with two more important days, but it's a good start and we are excited about that. The guys have to take the positives from today, obviously a very good round as a team, and build from them and understand that the reason we played we played that well today is that we simplified the game.”
Kennesaw State is sixth (287), Stanford is seventh (290), Penn State and Georgia Regents are tied for eighth (292), Wake Forest is 10th (294), McNeese State is 11th (296), Miami of Ohio is 12th (297) and Loyola (Md.) is 13th (300).
Register was the lone Tar Heel under par in the first of three rounds. Sophomore Carter Jenkins (Raleigh) shot even par 72, sophomore Henry Do (Canton, Mich.) shot 73, and senior Brandon Dalinka (Newtown, Pa.) and freshman Ben Griffin (Chapel Hill) shot three over 75s.
“It was a great round by William – he really carried us today,” says Tar Heel head coach Andrew Sapp. “Six-under is a fantastic score on this golf course. Hopefully tomorrow we can give him some more support. I feel confident our guys will play well tomorrow and improve upon the round they shot today.”
Register was 5-under through the first eight holes with birdies on holes #2, #3 and #8 and an eagle on the 533-yard, par 5 6th hole. He dropped a stroke on the 9th, making the turn in 4-under 32. Register added birdies on 11 and 13 before parring his way in over the final five holes. The 66 matched Register's second-lowest round of the season and was his best since he shot 66-65 in the first two rounds when he was medalist at the Primland Collegiate Invitational on September 29-30, 2014, in Meadows of Dan, Va.
“I'm really happy with my round,” says Register. “I felt relaxed and comfortable out there like it was a normal day. My putting was a lot better than it has been which was good to see. I'm excited for the next two days.”
Clemson's Billy Kennerly shot 67 and is one back of Register. Six players shot 4-under 68s, including Charlotte's Victor Wiggins, Seth Gandy and Raoul Menard.
Jenkins double bogeyed the first hole, but rebounded with birdies on three and four to pull even. He was 1-under through 11 before giving back a stroke on 17 to finish at even-par 72.
Do also doubled the opening hole, a 430-yard par 4, and had just two pars in the first eight holes. He birdied holes #2, #4 and #6 and eagled the par-5 #3, but another double bogey on #8 left him at 1-under. He bogeyed the first two holes on the back side before closing with seven pars to finish at 1-over 73.
Griffin, who has won twice this year as a freshman, carded two birdies but bogeyed holes #1, #2 and #17 and doubled #18 to finish at plus 3.
Dalinka had three birdies and three bogeys but shot 75 for the round due to a triple on the 16th hole.
The NCAA Chapel Hill Regional field, one of six being played across the country, includes 13 teams and 10 individuals. The top five teams and low individual outside those five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be played May 29-June 3 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
The NCAA Chapel Hill Regional continues play on Friday and concludes with the third and final round on Saturday. Tee times begin on Friday at 8 a.m. The Tar Heels begin play at 8:20 Friday morning off the #1 tee. There is no admission and the public is welcome.
Players Mentioned
