May 19, 2011
Live Scoring
TUCSON, Ariz. - Freshman Matt Hansen had eight birdies during his 7-under 64 on Thursday, including five on his front nine, and has a two-shot lead over the field for the 10th-place UC Davis men's golf team at the NCAA Southwest Regional at OMNI Tucson National Resort.
Hansen enjoyed the Aggies' best round of the season and was four shots better than rounds of 68 he had at the Alister Mackenzie Invitational in October and the PING Cougar Classic last month.
"It was a phenomenal round and he single-handedly kept our team in contention," said Aggie coach Cy Williams. "At the same time, we're just a third of the way through the tournament. What will ultimately define the success of his tournament will be the next two rounds."
Supported by a 73 from senior Austin Graham, and 75's from Tyler Raber and Andrew Haggen, UC Davis finished with a 3-over 287 at the par-71, 7,199-yard course.
The Aggies are nine shots behind eighth-ranked leader San Diego State but just six shots back of both Arizona and No. 7 Texas A&M which are tied for fourth. The top five teams and one individual will advance to the NCAA Finals in Stillwater, Okla., later this month.
Graham is tied for 38th, Raber and Haggen are each tied for 53rd, and Daniel Covrig is tied 63rd after finishing with a 77.
Hansen, the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, wasted little time getting into the red on Thursday, carding a birdie on his opening hole, the par-5 ninth. Three birdies over a four-hole span pushed him to 4 under after eight holes while two more on the first three holes of his back nine moved him to 6 under.
Hansen added another birdie on the par-3 seventh hole before coming in with his spectacular round. He had just one bogey on the day and mixed in nine pars as well.
Seventeen players shot under par on the first day. Hansen leads Alex Moore of Oregon State by two shots while three other players lurk three shots off the pace.
Despite an early double-bogey, Graham got off to a good start thanks to four birdies on his front nine that gave him a 2-under 34 at the turn. He played his back nine four shots over par, finishing with a 73. Raber was 2 over on both sides, finishing with three birdies overall while Haggen had one birdie.
Covrig had a birdie on his first hole to help highlight his round.
San Diego State, at 6 under 278, leads Washington by a shot and Liberty by two.
The tournament continues with 18 holes on both Friday and Saturday.
NCAA MEN'S SOUTHWEST REGIONAL
Tucson, Ariz. (hosted by Univ. of Arizona)
OMNI Tucson National Golf Resort
18 of 54 holes
TEAMS
1. San Diego State, 278
2. Washington, 279
3. Liberty, 280
4. Arizona, 281
5. Texas A&M, 281
6. Texas Tech, 283
7. Oregon State, 284
8. Pepperdine, 284
9. Cal, 286
10. UC DAVIS, 287
11. Purdue, 290
12. Tex.-Arlington, 294
13. Army, 302
14. Loyola (Md.), 310
INDIVIDUAL
1. Matt Hansen, UC Davis, 64
UC DAVIS
T38. Austin Graham, 73
T53. Tyler Raber, 75
T53. Andrew Haggen, 75
T63. Daniel Covrig, 77
