KU's Gilbert Completes First Day Of NCAA Regional Golf
May 19, 2011
TUCSON, Ariz. – Kansas golfer Chris Gilbert completed the first day of the NCAA Regional tied for 38th place. Gilbert qualified for the tournament as an individual. He needs to finish first among individuals not on the top five teams to advance to the NCAA Championships.
Gilbert shot a two-over par 73 on the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort course Thursday. With bogeys on the second and fifth holes, Gilbert, a sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., finished the front nine two over par.
He carded a birdie to start the back nine, but gave that up with consecutive bogeys on the next two holes. He bounced back with a birdie on the 16th hole to finish two over on the day.
“He had a shaky start, but he kept plugging away,” said KU head coach Kit Grove who is with Gilbert in Arizona. “He just couldn’t quite get anything going. He made a birdie and then made two bogeys. It was a solid first round though. He put himself in a position, where if he has two good rounds he might have a fighting chance to advance.”
Matt Hansen of UC Davis gained the individual lead on the first day, shooting a 64. In all, 17 players broke par and 12 matched it on Thursday. San Diego State leads the closely-contested team race after shooting a 278. Washington shot 279, Liberty 280 for second and third place. Big 12 teams Texas A&M and Texas Tech are tied for fourth and sixth respectively.
The 54-hole tournament continues Friday with the final round Saturday.
