University of Washington
U.S. Intercollegiate
Husky Men 12th at U.S. Collegiate Championship
October 24, 2010 | Men's Golf
Oct. 24, 2010
• UW Golf on Facebook
• Husky Golf Blog
• Golfstat.com Live Scoring | Round 1 Results 
ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- The Husky men's golf team dug themselves into a deep hole during the first round of the United States Collegiate Championship on Sunday and will have to spend the next two days trying to climb back up the leaderboard.
Washington is 12th out of 15 teams competing on the 7,017-yard, par-72 Lakeside Course at The Golf Club of Georgia after a first round combined score of 301 (+13). The Huskies are 30 strokes behind host Georgia Tech, who shot an impressive 271 (-17) for a 13-stroke lead over second place Texas A&M.
James White of Georgia Tech shot a blistering 10-under par 62 and has a seven stroke lead over five golfers.
Coach Matt Thurmond was impressed by his young team's ability to compete after second-place finishes in the first two tournaments. Thurmond will now get to see how his team responds after some adversity.
"With a young team like what we have, we're going to have days like today," said Thurmond, who sports a lineup consisting of two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. "If you play golf long enough, you're going to have days like today. We will be back tomorrow."
Sophomore Chris Williams was one Husky who got a head start on showing off his resilience. The Moscow, Idaho native and 2010 Phil Mickelson Award winner could not get his round on track until the 12th hole. He had five bogeys through 11 holes before birdies on 12 and 14 seemingly got him back on track. A double bogey on No. 15 could have sent Williams' day into a further slide, but he rebounded with birdies on No. 17 and 18 to end up at 3-over 75.
Junior Jens Bracht of Lake Forest Park, Wash. was the Huskies most consistent performer on the day. He is the team's highest-finisher at +2 and will enter Monday's second round tied for 28th. Bracht sandwiched four bogeys around birdies on No. 3 and No. 18.
Freshman Cory McElyea is tied with Williams at 34th on the individual leaderboard. The California native was much more consisten in obtaining his 75. McElyea was even through 12 holes before bogeys on No. 13, 14 and 16 inflated his scorecard. Overall, he had a birdie on No. 8 to go with four bogeys.
Sophomore Charlie Hughes is tied for 55th after a 5-over 77. Junior Ty Chambers is tied for 69th after a 7-over 79. Both have shown in the past the ability to bounce back from tough rounds.
The Huskies will start teeing off on Monday at 10:50 a.m. ET.
