June 1, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team opened the NCAA championships Wednesday with a 10-over 290 at the par-70, 7,131-yard Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. The Aztecs are currently tied with USC and Tulsa for 18th place in the field of 30 schools. Georgia, one of just two teams under par, currently leads the competition by five strokes over second place Tennessee at 6-under 274.
"Our goal today was 5-over or less and although we didn't meet it, we're not far off," SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan said. "All the guys are hitting the ball really well and the course is phenomenal, but also very challenging as you can see by the scores. I told the team that you can never win the championship on the first day, but you can lose it and we didn't put ourselves that far out of position with three rounds still to go."
SDSU was led by juniors Josh Warthen (Pismo Beach, Calif.) and Andrew Scott (Henderson, Nev.). Warthen had a team-best five birdies and was 1-under in the final nine holes to end the day at 1-over 71, which was good for 33rd place overall. Scott, the lone Aztec with previous NCAA championship experience, is one stroke behind Warthen with a 72, including an eagle on a par-5.
Senior Linus Nilsson (Limhamn, Sweden) was even through the first nine holes, but then bogeyed three times in the final nine holes for a 73. Seniors Gilberto Rodriguez (Tijuana, Mexico) and Aaron Choi (San Diego, Calif.) rounded out the Aztec contingent by carding a 74 and 75, respectively.
Georgia's Kevin Kishner and Augusta State's Major Manning are tied for the individual lead at 5-under 65.
San Diego State, which is making its first NCAA appearance since 2003, will begin the second round on the first tee at 12:18 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday.
First round scores with relation to par June 1, at the 2005 NCAA championships, played at the par-70, 7,131-yard Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
Top Five Team Scores
1. Georgia 274 (-6)
2. Tennessee 279 (-1)
3. Arizona 282 (+2)
4. UNLV 284 (+4)
Coastal Carolina 284 (+4)
t.18. San Diego State 290 (+10)
Top Five Individual Scores
1. Kevin Kishner, Georgia 65 (-5)
Major Manning, Aug. St. 65 (-5)
3. Aron Price, Ga. Southern 66 (-4)
4. Four tied 67 (-3)
San Diego State
t33. Josh Warthen 71 (+1)
t49. Andrew Scott 72 (+2)
t71. Linus Nilsson 73 (+3)
t87. Gilberto Rodriguez 74 (+4)
t107. Aaron Choi 75 (+5)