PULLMAN, Wash. – University of San Francisco men's golfer
Tim Widing is in the top-10 after shooting a 3-under 67 in the opening round of the NCAA Pullman Regional located at the par-70 Palouse Ridge Golf Club on Monday.
Competing as an individual, Widing finished the day with three birdies and an eagle to go into the clubhouse 1-under for the day. Playing in his third NCAA regional, the native of Jonkoping, Sweden, opened the round 2-under at the turn thanks to birdies on holes two and five.
"Tim played phenomenal golf today," said head coach
Jack Kennedy. "He burned the edge of the hole all day and was unlucky to not get more out of the round. That being said, he has put himself in position to win a golf tournament with 2 rounds to play and we will build off of today's great play tomorrow."
After the turn he improved to 3-under with a birdie on 10. Back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13 had him back to 1-under for the round. On 15, Widing had the shot of the day when he launched a drive 335 yards and rolled within 18 feet of pin which he buried for an eagle to bring him back to 3-under for the round.
"Overall a very solid first round and I had a lot of fun out there today," said Widing. "I managed to hit a lot of fairways which opened up for great approach shots into the greens. I'm happy with the way I handled my two bogeys on the back nine and especially my eagle on 15 where I hit my driver up to 18 feet and made it. Going in to tomorrow I will keep being aggressive and give myself good looks for birdie, and hopefully my putting will improve as well so that I can take advantage of my tee to green game."
Widing is three back the leaders, Chandler Phillips (Texas A&M), Garett Reband (Oklahoma), and Carson Lundell (BYU) who all finished tied at 6-under. UC Santa Barbara's Zach Smith is the top individual performer, he is 5-under. No. 20 Texas A&M is leading the field with an 11-under 269.
Widing will tee off tomorrow at 9:53 a.m. for the second round. He will be partnered with Iona's Paolo Matti and Wright State's Austin Schoonmaker. You can follow along live at Golfstat.com.
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