May 27, 2016
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EUGENE, Ore. - San Diego State's Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) shot a 3-under-par 67 on Friday to lead the Aztec men's golf team during the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships at Eugene Country Club. With his total, the SDSU junior grabbed a share of the lead individually with South Carolina's Will Starke and Theo Humphrey of Vanderbilt heading into Saturday's second round on the par-70, 7,014 yard layout.
"I was very proud of Nahum," said SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan. It was somewhat expected. He definitely rises to the occasion and he's been playing well and putting well. I'm not wowed by it, but it was just one of those good, solid rounds by him. He was very disciplined out there today and he made some birdies where he needed to. It looked like he was hitting the ball within six or seven feet each time."
As a team, the Aztecs set a school record for lowest 18-hole score in the NCAA Championships after posting a collective 3-over 283 to tie USC and Vanderbilt for third place. As a result, the Scarlet and Black find themselves just one shot in back of Arkansas and TCU after the co-leaders both fired a 282.
"Overall, it was a good day, Donovan said. "Even-par was our goal; we shot 3-over, but there's still a lot of golf left. Our guys fought all the way through to a good finish. We made all pars on 7 and had four birdies on 8. These guys believe in themselves and they believe in each other. It's a great group. We just have to go out and play our game tomorrow afternoon and take it day by day. But overall it was solid."
Starting on the 10th tee, Mendoza overcame three bogeys on the front, ultimately leading the field with six birdies, including a 30-foot conversion on the 11th green. The reigning Mountain West Player of the Year had his momentum temporarily derailed with a pair of bogeys at No. 16 and 17, but played spot-free golf the rest of the way, draining three additional birdies after the turn, including the dangerous par-3 third. With his effort, the Francis Parker High alumnus tied the SDSU standard for the lowest individual round at the NCAA tournament set in 1971 by Jack Spradling on the opening day in Tucson, Ariz.
"The greens were firm and I hit them pretty high, so that was a big advantage," Mendoza said. I was able to get at a lot of pins especially on my back nine."
In addition, Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) sits two shots behind Mendoza in a nine-way logjam for seventh place after firing a 1-under 69 on Friday. The Aztec senior captain offset three bogeys with four birdies, highlighted by an impressive conversion on the par-3, 192-yard 14th, which ranked as the seventh-toughest hole of round one.
Elsewhere, Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.) landed in a tie for 52nd after shooting a 2-over 72. The two-time all-Mountain West performer overcame three consecutive bogeys on holes 15-17 with two birdies after the turn, including one of SDSU's four circled scores on the par-4 eighth.
The Aztecs were also represented by sophomores Gunn Yang (Pyeongchang, South Korea) and PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii), who each recorded an opening-round 75. Yang weathered a rash of four bogeys on the front with three birdies after the turn, including an impressive drain at No. 5, which ranked as the fifth-most difficult hole on Friday.
Samiere, meanwhile, eased the sting of five bogeys and a double on the par-4 12th with successful birdie putts at No. 16 and 18. The par-3 16th was listed as the fourth-toughest green of the opening round.
The NCAA Championships resume on Saturday with second-round action. San Diego State will once again tee off alongside Virginia and Baylor on hole No. 1, starting at 1:15 p.m. PT.
All 30 teams and six individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play (Friday-Sunday). Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams, along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team, will advance for one additional day (Monday) of stroke play to determine the eight-team field for match play. The NCAA individual champion will be crowned after 72 holes of stroke play.
2016 NCAA Championships
Round One Results
Eugene C.C.
Eugene, Ore.
Par 70, 7,014 yards
Team Scores (Top 18 of 30 schools)
T1. Arkansas ... 282 (+2)
T1. TCU ... 282 (+2)
T3. San Diego State ... 283 (+3)
T3. USC ... 283 (+3)
T3. Vanderbilt ... 283 (+3)
T6. Oklahoma State ... 285 (+5)
T6. Florida State ... 285 (+5)
T8. LSU ... 286 (+6)
T8. Florida ... 286 (+6)
T10. South Carolina ... 287 (+7)
T10. California ... 287 (+7)
T12. Texas ... 289 (+9)
T12. Kentucky ... 289 (+9)
T12. Wake Forest ... 289 (+9)
T15. Illinois ... 290 (+10)
T15. Alabama ... 290 (+10)
T15. Oklahoma ... 290 (+10)
T15. Arizona State ... 290 (+10)
Individual Leaders (Top 6 of 156 players + SDSU)
T1. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU ... 67 (-3)
T1. Will Starke, South Carolina ... 67 (-3)
T1. Theo Humphrey, Vanderbilt ... 67 (-3)
T4. Chelso Barrett, TCU ... 68 (-2)
T4. Justin Suh, USC ... 68 (-2)
T4. Kolton Crawford, Arkansas ... 68 (-2)
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T7. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU ... 69 (-1)
T52. Ryann Ree, SDSU ... 72 (+2)
T103. Gunn Yang, SDSU ... 75 (+5)
T103. PJ Samiere, SDSU ... 75 (+5)