STILLWATER, Okla. - San Diego State junior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) birdied five of his final nine holes to post a first-round 3-under 69 and tie for third place Tuesday after the first round of the NCAA Men's Golf Championships at the par-72, 7,416-yard Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. Spaun's strong finish helped the Aztecs to a tie for 10th place with Kennesaw State at 7-over 295, just one stroke behind reigning national champion Augusta State and three in back of top-seeded and host Oklahoma State. "Overall, we're in a good spot with two rounds to play," SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan said. "We got off to kind of a slow start, but the guys fought hard, which is what this team has been doing all year long. I expect a good round tomorrow." Starting on the 10th tee, Spaun like the rest of his teammates started slowly, logging three bogeys, two pars and one birdie through his first six holes. After notching three consecutive pars, he made the turn and proceeded to get back to even par with birdies on the first and second holes. Spaun finished the evening with three more birdies and four pars to notch the best round by an Aztec at the NCAA championships since Barry Mahlberg also carded a 69 in 1982. Spaun is currently tied for third place with Augusta State's Patrick Reed and trails only Texas A&M's Cameron Peck, who shot a 4-under 68, and day-one leader James White of Georgia Tech, who notched a 5-under 67, including eight birdies. "This is my first time out here (at the NCAA championships) and I think I was a little nervous on the first couple of holes," Spaun said. "On the front nine, I made birdie on the first hole and they just kept coming. I knew I had to take advantage of the good weather conditions out on the course today." Aztec freshman Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) posted a solid round in his NCAA championship debut, coming away with an even-par 72, including the team's lone eagle of the day on a near 60-foot putt on the par-5 18th hole. Baek moved to 3-under following a birdie on the very next hole, but then had three bogeys on his next four holes before finishing out the round with four pars. The Rancho Bernardo High product is currently in a 15-way tie for 19th place. SDSU senior Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) opened with eight consecutive pars before double bogeying the 18th hole. He would add seven more pars on the front nine to go with a pair of bogeys and is currently tied for 75th place at 4-over 76. Junior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) provided the Aztecs with two critical birdies on his final two holes to move the team up in the standings, but had his round offset by three double bogeys to put him in a tie for 108th at 6-over 78. Junior Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.) went 7-over on the first nine holes and was never able to recover, rounding out the San Diego State contingent with a 14-over 86 to tie for 151st place. Fourth-seeded Georgia Tech posted the low round of the day with a 5-under 283 and owns a three stroke lead over the only other squad to finish under par, No. 2 seed UCLA, which shot a 2-under 286. Alabama is in third place at even-par, Texas A&M is fourth at 1-over, while there is a three-way tie for fifth with Illinois, Georgia and Ohio State at 291. San Diego State will once again be paired with Texas A&M and Illinois on Wednesday from the first tee at 7:50 a.m. CT/5:50 a.m. PT. Live results for the national championships are available on goaztecs.com. | 
