Duke In 29th Place After Opening Round Of NCAA Championships

Wednesday, May 30

Williamsburg, Va.

All Day

Duke University

Day One

Duke To Open Medal Play Rounds Of Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship On Sunday

Duke In 29th Place After Opening Round Of NCAA Championships

5/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

WILLIAMSBURG, VA ? Freshman Adam Long fired a team-low 71 (+1) on Wednesday as Duke closed the opening day of the 2007 NCAA Championship 29th overall with a 14-over 294 at the Gold Course at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club. The Blue Devils, seeded 21st overall, begin second round action on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

The Blue Devils got off to a slow start on Wednesday, playing their first four holes (10-13) at 14-over as a team. During the opening stretch, Duke suffered four double-bogeys and six bogeys. The team went on to play the final 14 holes of the day at even-par with 14 birdies.

"We didn't get off to a good start today, but our score doesn't reflect how we played. We actually had four guys that played fairly well. We just had one of those days were you get a couple of bad breaks and you end up shooting a score higher than you should have based on how you played," said interim head coach Brad Sparling. "Our attitude is good and we are going to maintain our gameplan of hitting fairways, making good decisions on approach shots and give ourselves a chance to make putts. We are not going to do anything differently, but we will play a lot better tomorrow and our scores will reflect that."

Long opened with three straight pars before carding bogeys on No. 13 and No. 15 to slip to two-over. The St. Louis, Mo., native registered a birdie on the par-3 16th hole and parred No, 17 and No. 18 to make the turn at one-over (36). He bogeyed No. 2 and No. 4 to fall to three-over but played the final five holes at two-under to finish the round tied for 51st overall.

"I played well and really scored better than I hit the ball. There are some tight holes out there so it is really important to hit the ball in the fairway," said Long. "I think tomorrow we need to relax a little bit and make some birdies. I know we are going to play well tomorrow."

Junior Michael Quagliano opened double-bogey, bogey to slip to three-over, but rebounded to birdie No. 15 and No. 18 to get back to one-over through nine holes. He also birdied the par-4 first hole to get back to even-par on the day. Quagliano suffered bogeys on four of five holes before finishing with back-to-back pars to close the day tied for 107th with a four-over 74.

Clark Klaasen, a sophomore from Grand Rapids, Mich., also shot a +4 74 on Wednesday. He had 10 pars, two bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys and was at six-over through 14 holes. Klaasen responded with birdies on No.6 and No. 8 to get back to four-over on the day.

Senior Jake Grodzinsky had a team-best four birdies on the day en route to a five-over 75. The Cornville, Ariz., native slipped to four-over after five holes before carding birdies on No. 15 and No. 16 to get back to two-over. Following a bogey on No. 18, Grodzinsky birdied the par-4 first hole to again get back to two-over, but suffered a triple-bogey on No. 2. A bogey on No. 7 dropped him to six-over but he birdied the par-4 ninth hole to close the round tied for 126th overall.

Junior Michael Schachner struggled throughout the opening round en route to a nine-over 79. He carded a pair of birdies on the day but also suffered two double-bogeys and a triple-bogey.

Stanford shot a five-under 275 to lead by two strokes after the first round. The Cardinal had three golfers shoot par or below. Junior Rob Grube topped the field with a six-under 64. Grube had no bogeys and six birdies, including five birdies on the front nine. Sophomore Daniel Lim came in at one-under 69 and senior Zack Miller shot even-par 70.

Coastal Carolina sits in second place at three-under 277. There is a three-way tie for third, as Florida, Minnesota and Texas each shot two-under 278. Charlotte was the only other team to break par at one-under 279, good for sixth place. Florida freshman Tim McKenney is two shots back in the individual standings at four-under 66. He had seven birdies, one bogey and one double bogey. Four players are tied for third at three-under 67: Coastal Carolina senior Dustin Johnson, Minnesota senior Bronson LaCassie, Florida State sophomore Matthew Savage and Georgia Tech sophomore Cameron Tringale.

Live updates for the 2007 NCAA Championship can be found at www.golfstat.com, while www.Golfweek.com will provide live streaming video, daily recaps, exclusive interviews and much more from the NCAA finals.

NOTES
*** Duke recorded 14 birdies in the opening round. Grodzinsky carded a team-high four birdies, while Quagliano and Long each had three birdies.

*** The Blue Devils played the par-5 15th hole at two-under. Schachner, Grodzinsky and Quagliano each birdied the hole.