ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Stanford used the efforts of David Boote and Cameron Wilson to put itself in the middle of the 15-team pack Friday through the first round of the United States Collegiate Championship.
The Cardinal pair each notched a 3-under 69, while Stanford sat in eight place after its first trek through the 7,017-yard, par-72 Lakeside Course.
Defending champion Georgia Tech exploited perfect scoring conditions at The Golf Club of Georgia and grabbed the first-day lead of by five shots over Oklahoma State.
The host Yellow Jackets compiled a 9-under 279, led by Ollie Schniederjans, whose 6-under 66 shared the individual lead with Virginia’s Ben Rusch.
Boote was even heading into the par-5 ninth, and then came away with an eagle on the 540-yard closer. Boote also birdied the par-5, 564-yard 18th.
Wilson had a pair of birdies on both the front and back nine. The lone bogey came on the par-4, 432-yard 14th. Wilson birdied two of the next three to end the day.
Despite rain-softened greens and windless conditions, defending individual champion Patrick Rodgers recovered from a 4-over front nine to close with a bogey-free back half. Rodgers nabbed a 3-over 75 while tying for 38th with Maverick McNealy.
Jim Liu logged a 7-over 79, hindered mostly by a triple bogey on the 12th hole. Liu started the round 1-under through three with the assistance of looper Conrad Ray.
The first-round stroke average was 73.33, with 34 players at par or better.
The final two rounds of the 54-hole tournament will be streamed live starting at noon (PT) on Saturday at Sunday at GoStanford.com.
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