VICTOR, N.Y. – Zach Riley paced The W team on the first day of the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships, played on the Cobblestone Creek Country Club course. The Owls team struggled, like many others that played on the longer CCCC course, shooting a team aggregate of 315 and 35th place.
MUW entered the Championships ranked 38th in the nation.
Riley, a graduate student from Hernando, Miss., sits in a seven-way logjam for 10th place out of the 225-player field. Riley – who entered the NCAAs ranked No. 80 in the nation – shot a level-par round of 72 at Cobblestone Creek.
Riley’s fourth birdie of the day on the par-4, 13th hole got him to two-under for the day and tied for second place. But back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 put him back to an even round, as Riley then parred the final three holes and finished just four shots off the leader heading into Wednesday’s second round.
The balance of The W’s senior-laden lineup never got on track in the first round, all firing uncharacteristically high scores for the day. Spence Davis carded an 80 and is in 152nd place, followed by the team’s lone junior, Cameron James, at 81 (167th).
Matt Wilkinson’s 82 (179th) and Luke Yocum’s 84 (201st) rounded out the Owls’ scorecard for the day.
MUW will have its chance to get back into the race to make the 18-team cut on Wednesday, when it plays the shorter Midvale Country Club course. Due to the forecast of inclement weather, both courses will have 8 a.m. (ET) shotgun starts for the second round.
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