University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Shoot 6-Under in 1st Round at Tiger Invitational
03/05/2023 | Men's Golf
AUBURN, Ala. — The Richmond Spiders combined for a team score of 6-under par 282 in the first round of the Tiger Invitational Sunday at Grand National's Lake Course, placing fifth in the field of 18 teams. Three Spiders shot under par in Round 1: Cole Ekert (-4), Ben Cooper (-1), and Michael Childress (-1).
"First, it helps to have Cole playing such great golf to get us started off strong," said Childress. "Having someone consistently have top 10 rounds puts us all in position to make a run."
Ekert's 4-under 68 tied the lowest round of his career and included five birdies, one bogey, and 12 pars. Ekert is tied for fourth among the 90 golfers on the individual leaderboard. He is coming off a runner-up finish at last month's Wexford Intercollegiate, where Richmond tied for third among 18 teams.
Richmond's 282 (-6) Sunday was one of the better rounds in program history, tying for the 17th lowest single-round team score ever by the Spiders.
"I think coming off of Wexford, we are all doing a good job of picking small targets and making aggressive swings to those lines," said Childress, who is tied for 27th at 1-under par along with teammate Ben Cooper.
Drew Carlin is one shot further back at even-par, tied for 35th in the field. Lou Baker is 89th at 8-over par. Baker will tee off first for the Spiders in Monday's Round 2, going off the first tee at 8:50 a.m.
"The biggest thing for us is just remembering our goal is to win the tournament, not just have one good day," said Childress. If we keep playing to the proper spots and keep giving ourselves looks, I like our chances."
"First, it helps to have Cole playing such great golf to get us started off strong," said Childress. "Having someone consistently have top 10 rounds puts us all in position to make a run."
Ekert's 4-under 68 tied the lowest round of his career and included five birdies, one bogey, and 12 pars. Ekert is tied for fourth among the 90 golfers on the individual leaderboard. He is coming off a runner-up finish at last month's Wexford Intercollegiate, where Richmond tied for third among 18 teams.
Richmond's 282 (-6) Sunday was one of the better rounds in program history, tying for the 17th lowest single-round team score ever by the Spiders.
"I think coming off of Wexford, we are all doing a good job of picking small targets and making aggressive swings to those lines," said Childress, who is tied for 27th at 1-under par along with teammate Ben Cooper.
Drew Carlin is one shot further back at even-par, tied for 35th in the field. Lou Baker is 89th at 8-over par. Baker will tee off first for the Spiders in Monday's Round 2, going off the first tee at 8:50 a.m.
"The biggest thing for us is just remembering our goal is to win the tournament, not just have one good day," said Childress. If we keep playing to the proper spots and keep giving ourselves looks, I like our chances."
Players Mentioned
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