Men’s Golf in Fifth at NCAA Kingston Springs Regional

KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. -- The 26th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team is in fifth place after the first day of the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional Monday. The Aztecs, who earned the No. 5 seed in the 13-team field, carded a 3-under-par 281 on the par-71, 7,107-yard Golf Club of Tennessee.
 
No. 10 North Carolina State and No. 46 Kent State are tied for first at 7-under 277, while No. 13 and host Vanderbilt and Houston are two shots ahead of SDSU at 5-under 279. The top-five teams and lowest individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, slated for May 28-June 2, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
 
Individually, Youssef Guezzale leads a quartet of San Diego State golfers in the top 30. Guezzale fired a 2-under 69 and is tied with six others for eighth place in the 75-man field. Starting on the 10th hole, Guezzale recorded five birdies on the day, including the par-4, 336-yard 12th, the par-5, 580-yard 17th, the par-4, 433-yard first, par-3, 185-yard fourth and the par-5, 526-yard seventh. Guezzale's only blemishes were a double bogey on the par-3, 242-yard 16th and a bogey on the par-3, 216-yard eighth.

Callum Bruce, meanwhile, is a stroke back of Guezzale in a tie for 15th at 1-under 70. Bruce started with a bogey on the par-3, 163-yard 10th, but responded with birdies on both par 5s on his first nine, including the 551-yard 11th and No. 17. A bogey on the par-4, 450-yard third hole brought him back to even par before back-to-back birdies on the par-4, 421-yard sixth and seventh got him to 2-under. A bogey, however, on the par-4, 465-yard ninth had him sign for a 1-under 70.
 
Puwit Anupansuebsai and Zihao Jin are each tied for 19th following an even-par 71. Anupansuebsai quickly got to 3-under with birdies on No. 11, No. 12 and No. 17, but a bogey on the par-4, 442-yard second and a double-bogey on the third put him back at even par. He recorded pars on the final six holes for his 71.
 
Jin's round saw six birdies, six bogeys and six pars. Jin's birdies came on No. 11, No. 16, No. 3, the par-5, 565-yard fifth, No. 7 and No. 9. For the round, he was never better than 1-under and never worse than 2-over.  
 
Steve Sugimoto also is in the mix and is tied for 29th at 1-over 72. Sugimoto overcame a 2-over front nine (holes No. 10-18) with a 1-under back nine, including birdies on the third and ninth, respectively, with a bogey on the fifth.
 
San Diego State will play the second round Tuesday with Arkansas and Houston, beginning at 8 a.m. CT (6 a.m. PT) on the 10th hole.
 
NCAA Kingston Springs Regional
Kingston Springs, Tenn.
Day One Results
Golf Club of Tennessee
Par 71, 7,107 yards
 
Team Standings (Top 5 of 13 teams)
T1. No. 10 North Carolina State…277 (-7)
T1. No. 46 Kent State…277 (-7)
T3. No. 13 Vanderbilt…279 (-5)
T3. Houston…279 (-5)
5. No. 26 San Diego State…281 (-3)
 
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 75 players + SDSU)
1. Reid Davenport (Vanderbilt)…65 (-6)
2. Maximilian Steinlechner (North Carolina State)…66 (-5)
T3. Evan Brown (Loyola Maryland)…67 (-4)
T3. Will Kurtz (Kent State)…67 (-4)
T5. Chris Vandette (Kent State)…68 (-3)
T5. Andrew Gibson (Houston)…68 (-3)
T5. Christopher Gotterup^ (Rutgers)…68 (-3)
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T8. Youssef Guezzale (San Diego State)…69 (-2)
T15. Callum Bruce (San Diego State)…70 (-1)
T19. Puwit Anupansuebsai (San Diego State)…71 (E)
T19. Zihao Jin (San Diego State)…71 (E)
T29. Steve Sugimoto (San Diego State)…72 (+1)
^ competing as an individual