University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
White Sands Invitational
Houston in Second at White Sands Invitational
11/1/2019 3:02:00 PM | Men's Golf
Senior George Gardner, junior Luke Long tied for sixth at 68
| Scoring | First-Round Results Pairings | Schedule |
|---|
| Team | Rounds | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| 1. | Florida State | 275 | 275 | -13 | ||
| 2. | #39 Houston | 276 | 276 | -12 | ||
| 3. | #2 SMU | 278 | 278 | -10 | ||
| t4. | #22 Arkansas | 279 | 279 | -9 | ||
| t4. | Middle Tennessee | 279 | 279 | -9 | ||
| t6. | #1 Wake Forest | 282 | 282 | -6 | ||
| t6. | Miami (Ohio) | 282 | 282 | -6 | ||
| 8. | #46 UAB | 285 | 285 | -3 | ||
| 9. | Georgia Southern | 286 | 286 | -2 | ||
| t10. | Illinois State | 287 | 287 | -1 | ||
| t10. | Wisconsin | 287 | 287 | -1 | ||
| t10. | Northern Illinois | 287 | 287 | -1 | ||
| 13. | Georgia State | 292 | 292 | +4 | ||
| 14. | Louisiana Tech | 300 | 300 | +12 | ||
| HOUSTON LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| t6. | Luke Long | 68 | 68 | -4 | ||
| t6. | George Gardner | 68 | 68 | -4 | ||
| t14. | Logan Young | 69 | 69 | -3 | ||
| t20. | Matt Cole (Ind.) | 70 | 70 | -2 | ||
| t29. | Alexander Frances | 71 | 71 | -1 | ||
| t29. | Braxton Watkins (Ind.) | 71 | 71 | -1 | ||
| t41. | Andrew Gibson | 72 | 72 | E | ||
| OVERALL LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| 1. | Parker Gillam (Ind.) Wake Forest |
60 | 60 | -12 | ||
| t2. | Calvin Sierota Florida State |
66 | 66 | -6 | ||
| t2. | Nick Robinson (Ind.) Wisconsin |
66 | 66 | -6 | ||
| t4. | #11 Mac Meissner SMU |
67 | 67 | -5 | ||
| t4. | #94 Julian Perico Arkansas |
67 | 67 | -5 | ||
NASSAU, Bahamas – The University of Houston Men's Golf program opened the First Round of the White Sands Invitational with a score of 12-under 276 to stand in third on Friday afternoon.
It was the team's second lowest round of the fall season, trailing only the 273 in the Second Round of the Trinity Forest Invitational at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas on Sept. 23.
Florida State held the first-day lead at 275 on the 7,209-yard, par-71 course. No. 2 SMU stood in third at 278 with Arkansas and Middle Tennessee tied for fourth at 279. No. 1 Wake Forest (282), Miami (Ohio) (282), No. 46 UAB (295), Georgia Southern (286) and Illinois State (287), Wisconsin (287) and Northern Illinois (287) completed the Top 12.
Wake Forest's Parker Gillam fired a 12-under 60 in Friday's play to lead Calvin Sierota (Florida State) and Nick Robinson (Wisconsin) by six strokes. SMU's Mac Meissner and Arkansas' Julian Perico were tied for fourth at 67.
All seven student-athletes in the Cougars' lineup shot par or better with senior George Gardner and junior Luke Long leading the way with 68s.
Starting his day off No. 1, Long made his first birdie on the par-5 second hole and added back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5-6. The Fayetteville, Ark., native added another birdie on the par-5 13th hole and overcame his lone bogey at No. 15 with his final birdie on the par-5 16th hole.
Gardner made consecutive birdies on Nos. 6-7 and rebounded from his lone bogey at No. 12 with three birdies in a 5-hole stretch midway through his back nine on the way to his 68.
Senior Logan Young began his first round off No. 2 and sank three straight birdies on Nos. 5-7 before enduring a bogey on no. 9. The Normangee, Texas, native added two more birdies on his back nine to tie for 14th at 69.
Competing as an individual, senior Matt Cole began off No. 17 and made three birdies on his first six holes on the way to a 70 to tie for 20th.
Junior Alexander Frances led the way for Houston with six birdies in his first round. Frances overcame a tough start, which saw him bogey two of his first three holes.
Fortunately, the Stege, Denmark, native rallied with three birdies on his next five holes and added three birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to tie for 29th at 71.
Sophomore Braxton Watkins overcame four bogeys in his first 12 holes to make three birdies in his final five holes to join Frances in the group at 71.
Junior Andrew Gibson was tied for 41st at 72.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament continues at 7 a.m. (CDT) Saturday and wraps up at 7 a.m. (CST) Sunday with shotgun starts each day.
This is the end of a busy week for Houston Golf in the Bahamas. Houston Women's Golf hosted its own White Sands Invitational on Monday through Wednesday at the Ocean Club.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at the White Sands Invitational by clicking here.
SECOND-ROUND PAIRINGS
For Saturday's Second Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Florida State and SMU.
Long starts the day at 7 a.m., Saturday, off No. 1, with Young (first group off No. 2), Gardner (second group off No. 2), Frances (No. 3) and Gibson (No. 4) following. Cole begins off No. 17, while Watkins will start off No. 18.
Complete Second-Round pairings can be found by clicking here.
UP NEXT
Following the White Sands Invitational, the Cougars will take a break from competition before opening the spring season at their own All-American Intercollegiate at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas, on Feb. 16-18.
It will be the first of four tournaments, which the Cougars host, including the Border Olympics (Feb. 24-25), Cabo Collegiate (March 1-3) and Valspar Collegiate Invitational (March 16-17).
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.
