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Photo by dspics.com
Photo by dspics.com
Posted: May 15, 2017

Brown's ace leads Bulldogs in NCAA Regional

Preview

SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Ryan Brown (Bedford, NH) shot team-best round of 76 -  including an ace on the second hole – to lead the Bryant University men's golf team in first round action at the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regional Championship Monday. 

Bryant, the 2017 Champions of the Northeast Conference and making its second appearance at the NCAA Championships, finished with a team score of 313 as the Bulldogs find themselves in 14th place after Day 1.   The regional championship will continue with the second round on Tuesday and conclude with the third and final round on Wednesday here at par 71 Aldarra Golf Club.

Brown and the Bulldogs got off to a great start early. After opening with a birdie on the par-4 first, Brown notched his first career hole in one on the second, using a seven iron on the 179-yard par 3 hole.  The sophomore would par the next two hole and use a birdie on the sixth to finish the front nine with an even 35. 

Senior McKinley Slade (Saunderstown, RI) used two birdies and six pars on the front to start the round one under after nine.  As a team, the Bulldogs were just four over through the first seven holes, finding themselves at one point tied for 10th overall in the team standings. 

Slade would finish the day shooting a six over 77.  Classmate John Roberts (West Hartford, Conn.) had four birdies on the day, including three on the back nine as the rain started to pick up.  Roberts made five pars on the front.

Will Del Biaggio (San Jose, Calif.), playing in his first NCAA tournament, carded an 82 for the day as the freshman had nine pars, including a solid par on the difficult fifth hole, and added a birdie on the par-4 17th. 

Senior Ryan Tombs (Bedford, NH) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs with an 83.  Tombs finished with two birdies on the day, including one on the seventh thanks to a terrific chip from well below the green to within 18 inches of the cup on his third shot on the 503 yard seventh.  Tombs would make the putt to get back to just five over. 

Florida State leads the regional after Day 1, with a six-under 278, two strokes ahead of the University of Southern California, the top seed of the regional.  The Trojans finished four under as a team with a score of 280 thanks to overall individual leader Sean Crocker's round of seven under 64.  Alabama is the only other team to shoot under par, finishing one under with a 283.