Men’s Golf Finishes First Round at The Williams Cup

WILMINGTON, N.C. – University of Houston super senior Braxton Watkins and junior Santiago De La Fuente stood among the Top-20 leaders following the First Round of The Williams Cup on Friday at Eagle Point Golf Club.

Braxton drained a team-high four birdies, including three on his front nine, to finish with a 73 and tie for 11^th. De La Fuente added three birdies of his own with two on his first three holes of the day and was tied for 16^th at 74.

Braxton Watkins, The Williams Cup First Round recap

Braxton Watkins, The Williams Cup First Round recap

As a team, the Cougars finished the First Round with a score of 302 to tie with Iowa for seventh. Host and eighth-ranked North Carolina held the first-day lead at 1-under 287 to stand six strokes ahead of No. 37 Louisville.

NC State (294), Michigan State (298) and UNCW (298) rounded out the Top Five.

Sophomore Wolfgang Glawe was tied for 24^th at 76, while senior Austyn Reily was tied for 42^nd at 79. Senior Marcus Wochner was tied for 45^th at 80. Playing as an individual, sophomore Jacob Borow stood in 50^th with an 81.

Kent State's Jordan Gilkison and Michigan State's Drew Hackett were tied for first at 2-under 70. North Carolina teammates David Ford and Ryan Burnett, Max Kennedy (Louisville) and Brandon Einstein (NC State) joined them as the only student-athletes to shoot under par.

The tournament continues with the Second Round on Saturday morning with the Final Round beginning Sunday.

LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at The Williams Cup by visiting Golfstat.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.

PAIRINGS
For Saturday's Second Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Iowa and Indiana, beginning of No. 10 at 7:30 a.m. (CDT).

Wochner will start the day at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) with Reily (7:40 a.m. CDT), Glawe (7:50 a.m. CDT), De La Fuente (8 a.m. CDT) and Watkins (8:10 a.m. CDT) following.

Fans can find complete pairings by clicking here.

UP NEXT
Following the Williams Cup, the Cougars take a break until they open their spring season at the Border Olympics on Feb. 13-14, 2023, at Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas.

From there, the Cougars will stay in town to compete at the Rice Intercollegiate at Westwood Golf Club in Houston on Feb. 20-21, 2023.

Houston continues its spring slate when it tees off at the Cabo Collegiate on the Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on March 20-21, 2023.

SUPPORT HOUSTON RISE
Join Houston Rise, a $150 million fundraising campaign for Houston Athletics dedicated to championship success in the Big 12 Conference.

Every Houston Rise contribution prepares our Cougars to compete and win when we start Big 12 competition in July 2023. Click here to rise and be counted.

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.

– UHCougars.com –

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