Cowboys In Eighth Place

May 31, 2011

STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State's men's golf squad opened play at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships with a 292 team score to finish the day in a eighth place at Karsten Creek.

Georgia Tech posted the round of the day, finishing with a 283 to stand three shots clear of UCLA at the par-72, 7,416-yard layout. Alabama came in at 288 and alone in fourth place.

"It wasn't, obviously, the round we wanted to play. The golf course was the most getable you're going to see it, and I don't care how much rough there is, there was no wind," OSU head coach Mike McGraw said. "Tomorrow's a quick turnaround. We are going to be out here at 7 a.m. and those greens are going to be perfect, and you're not going to be waiting on the group in front of you. You just play nine holes without any stress, so if you can go out there and get a good number posted tomorrow morning, you'll be fine."

Tech's James White fired the round of the day with a 5-under 67 to lead Texas A&M's Cameron Peck by one.

A freshman and sophomore led the way for OSU individually on Day One as Talor Gooch and Sean Einhaus each posted 72s, respectively, to finish among the group tied for 20th place.

The host school began its day on the back nine with Gooch leading the way in the No. 5 spot. The Midwest City, Okla., native posted six-straight pars before making his lone bogey on his outward nine at No. 17 to turn at 1-over 37. Gooch moved to 2-over par with a bogey at the third before answering with a birdie at the par-4 fourth. After a string of four pars in a row, the OSU rookie closed with a birdie four at the ninth hole.

Einhaus navigated an initial nine with four bogeys and three birdies to make the turn at 1-over 37. The Borken, Germany native moved back to even par with a birdie at the fifth before making a bogey five on his next hole. Like Gooch, Einhaus closed with a birdie at the ninth to get back to level par.

Junior Peter Uihlein bounced back from bogeys on two of his first four holes with a birdie at the 15th to turn at 37 as well. The Orlando, Fla., native used a birdie at the first to move back to even, but tallied bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 to back to 2-over. Uihlein added a birdie at the eighth to finish in a tie for 34th with a 73.

"I think it's just one of those days where the ball might not have been bouncing our way. I'm not too worried," Uihlein said. "I know (Morgan) Hoffmann and Kevin (Tway) will play better. Sean (Einhaus) and Taylor (Gooch) played well today and they'll definitely keep it up."

Junior Morgan Hoffmann posted a 75 and came in tied for 64th, while senior Kevin Tway posted a 77 and to finish tied for 90th.

The Cowboys will begin their second round tomorrow at 7 a.m. (CST) and will be grouped with Alabama and UCLA.

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