The Georgia State men's golf team opened the 2009 Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational with a first round 293 (5-over) to stand in a tie for seventh place with 36 holes to play. Making their first trip to Hawaii, the Panthers were led by Brent Paul's even par round as the trade winds picked up on the back nine making for very difficult scoring conditions.
Georgia State opened play on the par-72, 7,218 Arnold Palmer course, which will also serve as the Panthers second round course. State will move over to the par-72, 6,535-yard George Fazio course for the final round on Wednesday.
Paul, who started out on the 10th hole, had a see-saw first nine holes that included three birdies, a bogey and double bogey. The junior rebounded on his second nine with nine straight pars to stand tied for 13th.
Junior Alex Castro opened play with a 1-over par 73 to stand in a tie for 22nd. Castro birdied the par three 8th hole and par 5 12th hole.
Junior Alan Fowler and senior Tom Sherreard are currently tied for 26th place after rounds of 74. Fowler's round was highlighted by a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole (ninth hole of play) and a pair of birdies.
Sherreard finished strong, with birdies on his final two holes to jump over a dozen spots.
Redshirt-sophomore Jared Cagle finished the day 47th after an opening round 77.
San Diego State opened the tournament with a seven stroke lead over Long Beach State for the team lead. The Aztecs shot an opening round 10-under par 278. Santa Clara and host Hawaii stand in third and fourth place.
San Diego State's Johan Carlsson took the early individual lead after an opening round 67. Teammate Alex Kang shot a 68 to stand in second place. Only 12 players in the 65-man field broke par on the opening road.
Along with practice rounds on Saturday and Sunday, the team got to enjoy some spare time on Oahu's North Shore. Several members of the team watched a surfing competition at Sunset Beach on Sunday afternoon as waves reached 18-feet.
Sherreard and Fowler led the Panthers College-Am team to a fourth place finish on Sunday afternoon, just two strokes shy of winning the tournament. The team has also taken in snorkeling in Turtle Bay and explored other parts of the island. A trip to Pearl Harbor is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Live stats will be available via.GolfStat.com. Georgia State will tee off beginning at xx on Tuesday for the second round of play. Full recaps of each round will be posted at GeorgiaStateSports.com when play concludes for the day.
Team Results:
1. San Diego State - 278
2. Long Beach State - 285
3. Hawaii - 288
T4. Illinois - 290
T4. Santa Clara - 290
6. New Mexico State - 291
T7. Georgia State - 293
T7. Hawaii-Pacific - 293
9. British Columbia - 295
10. Air Force - 298
11. BYU-Hawaii - 305
12. Osaka Gakuin - 318
Individuals
T13. Brent Paul - 72
T22. Alex Castro - 73
T26. Tom Sherreard - 74
T26. Alan Fowler - 74
47. Jared Cagle - 77
