DUBLIN, Ohio — Freshman Kian Rose fired an even-par 71 on Monday to lead the Clemson golf team to a 289 team score and a fourth-place standing after the first round of the NCAA Columbus Regional at the Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.
The 13 teams will play 18 holes and Tuesday and Wednesday, as well. After 54 holes, the top five teams in the standings will advance to the NCAA National Tournament at the Grayhawk Golf Course in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Oklahoma State, ranked second in the nation to rival Oklahoma, has a six-shot lead after the first round over East Tennessee State. San Francisco, who is not ranked among the top 50 schools in the nation, is third at 288, four-over-par. Clemson, which entered the regional seeded fourth, holds the fourth position after 18 holes at 290. Host school and sixth seeded Ohio State is tied for fifth at 290 with Georgia Tech and Duke. Arkansas, seeded third in the field, is eighth in the team standings so far at 292 and Kentucky is ninth at 294.
Clemson got off to a slow start and was eighth-over-par through just two holes. After six holes Clemson was last in the 13-team field by four shots with a nine-over-par score. But the Tigers showed great improvement on the front nine, the team’s second nine of the day. Clemson played its second nine in five-under-par as a team to jump from 13th to fourth by the end of the day.
“I am very proud of this team,” said Head Coach Jordan Byrd. “We were eight over par as a team through just two holes, but we hung in there and straightened things out. The back nine was our first nine holes and that is definitely the tougher side, especially this morning when the wind was blowing harder.” Historically, the Scarlet Course has been tough for the Tigers. In four previous NCAA National Tournament appearances at the Ohio State University Course, Clemson golfer have played 70 total rounds with a strong average of 75.00.
Rose was one of those Tigers who got off to a tough start on Monday, as he was four-over-par through five holes. He made a double on his first hole when he hit two shots from the rough, then made a bogey on the 11th. But he made a couple of long puts late in his opening nine that turned his round around.
“I made about a 10-footer for par on 17, then made a 25 footer for birdie on the 18th hole (ninth hole of the day) and that got me back in the right direction,” said Rose, who came to Clemson from South Africa. He then made birdies on the first, fourth and seventh holes to finish with an even-par score of 71. It was quite a performance for his first NCAA tournament round.”
“We have to give Joey Maxon (associate head coach) some credit for Kian’s performance today because he was with him the entire round,” said Byrd. “Joey played in the 1995 NCAA tournament at this course and he has been helpful in our preparation.”
Rose stands in a tie for eighth place with his even-par round after 18 holes. He had a team best five birdies for the round, which tied for first in the 75-player field. It was his 10th round at par or better this year and the fifth time he has had the best score of the day among Clemson players.
Jacob Bridgeman and Kyle Cottam both had scores of one-over-par 72 to support Rose and are tied for 14th place in the individual race. Bridgeman had a wild round in that he had trouble reaching greens in regulation, but he had six holes in which he got up-and-down for par or birdie from off the green. It was his 12th score of 72 or better in his last 13.
Cottam had four bogeys and three birdies in recording his round of one-over-par 72. He was either even par or one over after each of his 18 holes on Monday.
Zack Gordon contributed a three-over-par 74 and is tied for 36th. The native of Gaffney, S.C. had his best round since shooting a 74 in the final round of the Valspar Collegiate on March 29. His first birdie of the day came on the par three 12th hole and it was the 300th of his Clemson career.
Colby Patton struggled to a six over par 41 on the back nine, his first nine of the day, but came back to shoot even par on the front nine to finish strong, giving him a 77 in the opening round.
Clemson will begin the second round at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday and will play with ACC rival Georgia Tech and host school Ohio State. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com.
