DAVIE, Fla. – Paced by senior Reece Coleman's 2-under-par 69, the Anderson men's golf team is in a three-way tie for 15th place following opening-round action at the 2023 NCAA Southeast/South Regional Championship, Thursday.
"Obviously, today didn't go as planned," said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "We struggled to get any positive momentum. The guys made some birdies but we coupled those with too many bogeys. I was pleased that the team kept battling through a frustrating day on the course. We also had a few bad breaks which added to the frustration. But I believe we will do much better tomorrow and hopefully pass a few teams and get into a position that gives us a chance on Saturday to get into the top six and advance to nationals."
Nova Southeastern is hosting the three-day, 54-hole tournament on a par-71, 6,725-yard, Grande Oaks Golf Club layout.
Fifteen teams in the 20-team field are ranked in nation's top-25, including the No. 1-ranked Trojans, but 32nd-ranked Shorter posted 21 birdies on the day and holds a three-shot lead over 39th-ranked Lynn. Barry finished Thursday's first round in third place, with West Florida just one stroke further back in fourth place. Florida Southern is in the fifth slot, while Clayton State holds the sixth spot. North Georgia and USC Aiken share seventh place, with Lee and Lander tied for ninth place.
Georgia Southwestern is alone in 11th place, with SAC-members Limestone and Carson-Newman tied for 12th place. Nova Southeastern is 14th, with AU, Lincoln Memorial and Barton deadlocked in 15th place. Tampa, St. Leo and Spring Hill finished out the field.
Palm Beach Atlantic's Andrew Riley (62) blistered the course with eight birdies and an eagle on the par-4 12th and holds a three-shot lead over Shorter's Isaac MacNaughton (65) in the chase for individual medalist honors. Eight additional golfers are deadlocked in a tie for third place – just five shots off the pace set by Riley.
Barry's A.J. Ewart, the defending individual national champion, is among those eight players in the logjam for third.
AU's Coleman, who is ranked fourth nationally, birdied five holes on the day, including four of his final six, and is in a 13-way tie for 12th place, while junior Calahan Keever - ranked sixth in the country – shares 25th place after carding four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th. Alejandro de Castro, the SAC Freshman of the Year and SAC Tournament Champion, is tied for 71st. Sophomore Simon Wright shares 96th place, with junior Daniel Coker rounding out the Trojan contingent in 107th place.
The top six teams from the combined Southeast/South Regional along with the top two individuals not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships slated for May 22-26 at the Avon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio. At the finals, all 20 teams and eight individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play
Tuesday's second round is slated to get underway at 7:30 a.m., with the Trojans teeing off between 7:30 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. from the No. 1 tee.
T15 Anderson 289
T12 Reece Coleman 69
T25 Calahan Keever 70
T71 Alejandro de Castro 73
T96 Simon Wright 77
107 Daniel Coker 82
Teams Scores
1 Shorter 272 -12
2 Lynn 275 -9
3 Barry 276 -8
4 West Florida 277 -7
5 Florida Southern 278 -6
6 Clayton State 281 -3
T7 North Georgia 282 -2
T7 USC Aiken 282 -2
T9 Lee University 283 -1
T9 Lander 283 -1
11 Georgia Southwestern 284 E
T12 Limestone 285 +1
T12 Carson-Newman 285 +1
14 Nova Southeastern 287 +3
T15 Lincoln Memorial 289 +5
T15 Barton 289 +5
T15 Anderson 289 +5
18 Tampa 291 +7
19 Saint Leo 294 +10
20 Spring Hill 295 +11
COMPLETE RESULTS
