BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – USF wasted little time becoming acclimated to the track of Southern Hills Plantation Club in the first round of the 2021 American Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship on Friday. The Bulls combined to fire a tournament record score of 18-under-par 270 in the opening round to take an emphatic 15-stroke lead following 18 holes.
USF’s team total of 270 surpassed the prior tournament top score of 273 set by SMU in the third round of the 2015 American Men’s Golf Championship at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto. The average score for round one checked in at 72.58 on the par-72, 7,221-yard layout of Southern Hills Plantation Club. A total of 13 of the 40 players in the field finished under par in Friday’s first round, with seven total players navigating the layout in the 60s.
USF put on a sterling performance in the first round, with all five players shooting rounds under par. Kyle Flexsenhar and Luke Gifford led the way with matching 6-under-par 66s, with Gifford’s being bogey-free, to tie for the individual lead. Albin Bergstrom shared fourth place at 4-under 68 (33 on the back nine), and Sam Nicholson and Run Youprayong tied for eighth place with rounds of 70 (-2).
Memphis put together a solid team round to kick things off, combining on a 3-under-par 285. Esteban Vasquez shared sixth place with a 3-under 69, notching four birdies on his card to lead the Tigers. Guillaume Chevalier turned in a 1-under 71 to share 11th place, and Borja Martin tied for 14th place with a 72 (E). Oskar Ambrosius rounded out the Memphis lineup with a 1-over-par 73 to tie for 19th.
SMU claimed a share of third place playing as part of the final pairings, carding a 1-under team effort of 287. Noah Goodwin fired a bogey-free 3-under-par 33 on the back nine to tie for eighth place with a 70 (-2). Ollie Osborne and Nathan Petronzio shared 14th place at even par 72, and Dawson Ovard birded two holes on the way in as part of a 1-over-par 73 to tie for 19th place.
East Carolina enjoyed a strong showing as part of the first group on the course for the tournament, firing a 1-under-par team round of 287 for a tie for third place. Stephen Carroll led the way out of the number one spot with a bogey-free 3-under 69 to tie for sixth place overall, and AJ Beechler rolled in five birdies as part of an even par round of 72 (tied for 14th place). Patrick Stephenson and Tim Bunten each tied for 19th place with matching rounds of 73 (+1).
UCF closed out the top five with an even par team round of 288. Clement Charmasson logged five birdies to just a lone bogey to pace the Knights in 4-under 68, tying for fourth place. Johnny Travale came home in 2-under-par 34 to share 19th place with teammate Teddy Tetak at 1-over 73. Egor Eroshenko was the final UCF player to score on day one at 2-over 74.
Wichita State’s Marcus Wochner turned in another of the rounds of the day on Friday, taking the overnight individual co-lead alongside USF’s Flexsenhar and Gifford with a bogey-free 6-under-par 66.
The second round of the 2021 American Men’s Golf Championship is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. (ET), with tee times off the first hole. Wichita State and Temple will compose the initial pairings of the day.