Seniors Lead UW Men At NCAA Golf Regional

Thursday, May 19

Tucson, Ariz. - Omni National Golf Club

All Day

University of Washington

NCAA Regionals

May 19, 2011 | Men's Golf

By: Washington Athletics

May 19, 2011

• Live Scoring

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Husky men's golf team combined to shoot 5-under 279 in the first round of the NCAA Southwest Regional and is second on the leaderboard among 14 teams.

Washington, seeded sixth in the region, was led by its pair of senior duffers on Thursday. Kevin Spooner fired a season-best 3-under 68 and Tze Huang Choo shot 69. Chris Williams and Jens Bracht were each even par at 71 and Charlie Hughes was 2-over 73.

2	Washington	279	279
T6	Kevin Spooner (4)	68	68
T9	Tze Huang Choo (3)	69	69
T18	Chris Williams (1)	71	71
T18	Jens Bracht (5)	71	71
T38	Charlie Hughes (2)	73	73

The Huskies were one of six teams that were under par at Tucson Omni National Golf Club. San Diego State is pacing the way at -6. Liberty is third at -4, while a pair of schools - Arizona and Texas A&M - are at -3. The top-five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla. from May 30-June 4.

The Huskies are typically led by sophomores Williams and Hughes, but round one in the desert was reserved for the team's lone seniors. Head Coach Matt Thurmond was excited for the surprise contribution from Spooner and Choo.

"It's pretty cool, isn't it?" said Thurmond. "Those guys talked about how there were ready to step up and play as we prepared for the event, so it's great to see it on a day we really needed it."

Spooner was the Huskies' most consistent golfer all day. He collected four birdies and just one bogey on the way to shooting his second lowest round ever as a Husky. Spooner will enter Friday's second round tied for sixth with two other golfers.

Choo was equally impressive, carding a team-best five birdies on the day. He also had three bogeys, but was still able to shoot in the 60's for the third time this season. He is currently tied for ninth.

Bracht, playing in his first tournament since October, had the improbable round of the day among Huskies. He made the turn at +3, but converted four birdies on the back (also one bogey) to end the day even. Bracht told Thurmond that is was like riding a bike, leaving a huge impression on his coach.

"He showed that it was (like riding a bike)," said Thurmond. "Competitive golf is very demanding. He hasn't played a tournament in seven months and what he did is really impressive. "

Joining Bracht on the leaderboard tied for 18th is Williams. The first-team All-Pac-10 golfer had a steady day with just two birdies and two bogeys to go with 14 pars.

Hughes had a little bit more of an up-and-down day. He was -1 through 10 holes, but carded a couple bogeys and a double- bogey. Hughes was able to end on a positive note though, birdying No. 9 - the final hole of the day for the Huskies.

UC Davis' Matt Hansen shot 64 to take the first round lead. Oregon State's Alex Moore is two-stroke behind him at -5.

But, according to Thurmond, the individual and team races are still wide open. He would not be surprised if Williams and Hughes made one of their customary runs.

"Whatever place you're in doesn't really matter at this point," said Washington coach Matt Thurmond. "We just need to keep doing what we're doing."

The Huskies will tee off from number 1 starting at 9:10 on Friday.

Team Leader Board

Course:OMNI Tucson National: NCAA Arizona Regional Par 71 - 7199 yards

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