Georgia State senior Joel Sjoholm rests tied for fourth at the 2008 NCAA Men's Golf Championship after posting a first-round score of even-par 72 on the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex's Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind. on Wednesday.

Sjoholm, who ranks second nationally in the GolfStat Cup Rankings, posted just one birdie on his front nine before surging on the back where he carded four birdies to climb into the top-five overall.

The native of Sweden used a pair of remarkable putts to climb towards the top of the leaderboard with just two holes remaining. Sjoholm holed a putt from 25-feet out one the par-three 17th to move to one-over par. One upping himself on the next hole, the senior rifled a putt from 65-feet away, began walking off the green as the ball was 30-feet beyond the hole and watched on as the ball found the bottom of the cup.

“I didn't know it was going in, but I knew it was on line,” said Sjoholm of his long putt to move to even par for his round. “I wasn't happy with the way I played on the front nine, but I performed much better down the stretch. I needed those putts to put myself in a good position for tomorrow.”

While Sjoholm's round of 72 ended a streak of six-straight rounds in the 60s, his score represented a superb effort on the oppressing Kampen Course. Yielding just three sub-par rounds to the field of 156 of the nation's top golfers, 56 competitors posted scores of 80 or higher on a course designed to challenge.

“This is the toughest course I've played in my college career,” described Sjoholm, who captured three individual titles this year. “You have to be accurate here, because if you end up in the rough you're in trouble.”

Typically, the rough on the Kampen Course is between three to six inches and as high as one foot in areas.

“Joel found his ball in the rough on the first hole and was lucky to hit it 100 yards from there,” explained Georgia State head coach Matt Clark. “If you end up in the rough you pay.”

With three-rounds remaining in the NCAA Nationals, Sjoholm trails the leader, UCLA's Kevin Chappell, by just three strokes.

Sjoholm will tee off of the Kampen Course's first hole at 2:05 p.m. on Thursday. Updates will be posted to GeorgiaStateSports.com following each round and live scoring can be found at GolfStat.com.