University of Houston
The Williams Cup
Watkins, Gibson Lead Men’s Golf at The Williams Cup
10/25/2021 6:57:00 PM | Men's Golf
Cougars stand in seventh place following first 36 holes
| Live Scoring | Pairings |
|---|
| Team | Rounds | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| 1. | #3 North Carolina | 283 | 281 | 564 | -12 | |
| 2. | #41 NC State | 294 | 274 | 568 | -8 | |
| 3. | #32 Vanderbilt | 289 | 283 | 572 | -4 | |
| 4. | #29 Georgia | 290 | 283 | 573 | -3 | |
| 5. | #35 Louisville | 290 | 287 | 577 | +1 | |
| 6. | #31 Michigan State | 293 | 286 | 579 | +3 | |
| 7. | Houston | 297 | 289 | 586 | +10 | |
| 8. | #34 Indiana | 299 | 290 | 589 | +13 | |
| 9. | UNCW | 295 | 298 | 593 | +17 | |
| 10. | Iowa | 300 | 295 | 595 | +19 | |
| HOUSTON LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| t11. | Braxton Watkins | 71 | 71 | 142 | -2 | |
| t13. | Andrew Gibson | 70 | 73 | 143 | -1 | |
| t29. | Laurence Crea (Ind.) | 79 | 69 | 148 | +4 | |
| t43. | Austyn Reily | 80 | 71 | 151 | +7 | |
| t46. | Alexander Frances | 78 | 74 | 152 | +8 | |
| t50. | Julio Rios-Brache | 78 | 75 | 153 | +9 | |
| OVERALL LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| 1. | #76 Trent Phillips Georgia |
64 | 69 | 133 | -11 | |
| 2. | #58 Maximilian Steinlechner NC State |
72 | 63 | 135 | -9 | |
| t3. | #36 Jiri Zuska Louisville |
71 | 67 | 138 | -6 | |
| t3. | David Ford North Carolina |
71 | 67 | 138 | -6 | |
| 5. | #20 Austin Greaser North Carolina |
68 | 71 | 139 | -5 | |
WILMINGTON, N.C. – University of Houston seniors Braxton Watkins and Andrew Gibson stood among the Top-13 leaders following the first day of The Williams Cup on Monday evening at Eagle Point Golf Club.
Watkins fired back-to-back 71s on the 7,364-yard, par-72 course to lead the Cougars and tie for 11th at 2-under 142 after the first 36 holes. Gibson opened the tournament with a 70 and was tied for 13th at 143.
As a team, the Cougars posted a score of 1-under 287 in the afternoon session to better their First-Round score by eight shots and stood in seventh at 586.
In the morning, Watkins overcame a bogey on his first hole of the day at No. 17 with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6-7. Despite another bogey on No. 14, the Winthrop, Ark., native closed his First Round with a birdie on the 448-yard, par-4 16th hole.
He began his afternoon noon round much better with back-to-back birdies off Nos. 17-18. He moved to 2-under in the Second Round with another birdie on No. 5 and added two more birdies on No 11 and No 14 to join Michigan State's James Piot in a tie for 11th.
Gibson started his day well with a birdie on No. 16 and moved to 3-under through his first four holes with birdies on No. 18 and No. 1.
The Perthshire, Scotland, native rallied from two bogeys in a four-hole stretch with consecutive birdies again on Nos. 12-13 on the way to his 70.
Host and third-ranked North Carolina held the first-day lead at 564 with No 41 NC State in second at 568. No. 32 Vanderbilt (572), No 29 Georgia (573) and No. 35 Louisville (577) rounded out the Top Five.
Individually, Georgia's Trent Phillips stood atop the individual leaderboard at 11-under 133 after shooting a 64 in the morning round. NC State's Maximilian Steinlechner was in second at 135, while Jiri Zuska (Louisville) and David Ford (North Carolina) were tied for third at 138.
Playing as an individual, senior Laurence Crea posted the team's low round of the day with a 69 in the afternoon and was tied for 29th at 148. After beginning the Second Round with a birdie on No. 10, the Cypress, Texas, native rebounded from his lone bogey of the day on No. 12 to make three birdies in a four-hole stretch at Nos. 4-7.
Junior Austyn Reily was tied for 43rd at 151, while senior Alexander Frances was tied for 46th at 152. Competing in his first starting lineup of a team-scoring tournament, freshman Julio Rios-Brache was tied for 50th at 153.
The Final Round tees off with a 7:30 a.m., split-tee start off No. 1 and No. 10 on Tuesday.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at The Williams Cup by clicking here.
PAIRINGS
For the Final Round, the Cougars will play in a group with student-athletes from Indiana and UNCW.
Rios-Brache begins the day for the Cougars at 7:30 a.m. (CDT), off No. 10 with Frances (7:40 a.m. CDT), Reily (7:50 a.m. CDT), Gibson (8 a.m. CDT) and Watkins (8:10 a.m. CDT) following. Crea starts the Final Round off No. 10 at 8:40 a.m. (CDT).
Fans can find complete Final Round pairings by clicking here.
UP NEXT
Following The Williams Cup presented by Stitch Golf, Houston will take its winter break before opening the spring season at the Border Olympics on Feb. 14-15 at Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas.
JOIN PROJECT 17
Fans are invited to join Project 17 to support Houston Men's Golf. Project members provide financial support directly to Houston Men's Golf for needs beyond the program's operating budget.
For information about Project 17 or to join, fans can click here.
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.
Players Mentioned
