MILTON — The late afternoon sun baked the Capital City course’s greens as hard as a parking lot.
So Georgia’s first round of the NCAA men’s golf championship was more a matter of survival than making a move.
Georgia stayed alive with a 6-over 286 in Tuesday’s first round at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course and sits in a five-way tie for 14th place on the leaderboard.
“The greens were really firm,” Georgia junior Keith Mitchell said. “They rolled pretty well but the later in the day you get, the more footprints and stuff you get around the hole. It’s hard to really control your ball once you get on the green and that was the tough challenge out there today. If you could do that, you could get some good looks, otherwise you were just shooting for the middle.”
The tee times will flip-flop for today’s second round. Georgia’s leadoff man Nicholas Reach will start at 8:10 a.m., and Georgia hopes that the morning will bring more favorable conditions for a push to the top eight.
“In this kind of format, trying to be in the top eight teams, you just kind of have to feel out the first day, take what it gives you and try to make a lot of pars,” Georgia junior Joey Garber said. “I did that at times and didn’t do that at times. Luckily enough, I made a couple of birdies to cancel out a double (bogey) that I made on a par 5, which may cost me three shots. It was good to get a couple back. To shoot even out here, there’s definitely nothing wrong with that.”
Garber and Mitchell both shot even-par 70 to lead the Bulldogs in the first round. Nicholas Reach shot 2-over 72, Lee McCoy shot 4-over 74 and T.J. Mitchell shot 7-over 77.
“We’re fine,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “We’ve got so much golf left. We just wanted to play a solid round. In the afternoon, it’s usually pretty tough. We’re in good shape. The guys are playing good. We had a great practice round, so I anticipate those guys getting after it the next two days.”
The NCAA men’s golf championships starts with three rounds of stroke play, then the top eight teams feed into three rounds of match play to determine the title. Georgia is tied with South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and UNLV for 14th.
Arizona State leads the tournament after shooting 10-under and Georgia Tech is second at 6-under. Arizona State played in the morning and Georgia Tech played in the afternoon.
“I think we’re in pretty good position as a team,” Mitchell said. “Hopefully we can get some more birdies tomorrow and put ourselves closer to the top of the leaderboard. We’re just fine. I think going out in the morning will help. Having fresh greens and maybe some calmer winds will help us put a good number out.”
Garber made maybe the shots of the day for Georgia by hitting a long putt to save par on No. 15 and then chipping in for a birdie on No. 16. Garber had started the back nine with two birdies but shot a double bogey on No. 12.
“I drove it in the fairway bunker left and I was able to advance it up near the green,” Garber said. “I knew that was the best shot I could have hit. I knew I had to keep it left enough to get a good angle at the pin. Luckily enough I hit it perfect and it rolled in. I felt relief. I got a couple of bad breaks on the front nine and it was nice to have something go my way.”
Arizona State’s Rahm shoots 61 for lead
Arizona State showed that a low rounds can be shot in the morning. The Sun Devils’ Jon Rahm shot a 9-under 61 to lead all individuals after one round.
Rahm’s round is believed to be the lowest competitive round in course history and the second-lowest in an NCAA championship. Duke’s Michael Schachner shot a 60 in 2007. The lowest round at an NCAA event in relation to par is a 10-under 62 by Stanford’s Notah Begay in 1994. Georgia Tech’s Bo Andrews shot a 61 on the Crabapple course during practice on May 8.
“I don’t know how that guy shot a 61, he must have cheated,” Haack joked. “If there’re only 61s out in the morning we’ll take it.”
Rahm had 10 birdies and one bogey in his round. Six of his birdies came on the back nine.
Senior Mitchell reverses field during Day One
T.J. Mitchell started the day in a slump as he had five bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine. But he parred every hole on the back nine and birdied No. 12 to end with a 7-over 77.
“It’s playing tough out there,” Haack said. “It’s playing firm and fast. You can get some opportunities to make some putts, they’re rolling pretty true.”