ULM Warhawks

Louisville Cardinal Challenge / First-Round Results

SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – After a pair of opening-round scores of 2-under-par 69 from the duo of Keegan McLachlan and Joao Girao, the ULM men's golf team is tied for seventh in the team standings with a 3-under 281 at the Louisville Cardinal Challenge, which began on Friday, Sept. 14 at the University of Louisville Golf Club.
 
McLachlan and Girao are two of 16 golfers tied for 16th after the opening round of action, which witnessed 39 players carding scores of under par. McLachlan's day, which began at the 10th hole, got off to a solid start with three pars through his first three holes.
 
The South African freshman moved to 1-under-par with a birdie on 13, but fell back to even with a bogey on the following hole. McLachlan's second birdie of the day came at 17 as he wrapped up the front nine at 1-under-par. He continued to enjoy success on the course at the turn, notching a birdie on the first hole, and rebounded from his second bogey of the afternoon with a birdie and five pars down the stretch to close at 2-under-par.
 
Girao also began at the 10th hole, recording four consecutive pars before a bogey at 14 resulted in a 1-over-par score. He had his first of two birdies on the front nine at 15, following with a second at 17, as he moved into negative numbers for the first time.
 
Girao moved back to even with a bogey at one, where his score would remain for the next three holes. He drove home a birdie on the fifth green and added his fourth birdie of the round at nine to tie his teammate at 2-under-par.
 
Duke's Alex Smalley sits atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of the first round with a 10-under-par 61. He produced 11 birdies through the first 18 holes. Collectively, the Blue Devils have four players inside the top 13 at the event after an opening round 257, providing Duke an 11-stroke lead over Wake Forest and Louisville.
 
"Our men's team played well today and is currently tied for seventh place out of 16 teams," ULM Director of Golf Tim Baldwin said. "We had three rounds of par or better today and another at plus-1. We will need to make more birdies over the next couple of rounds to keep pace in this deep field."
 
Michael Gilbert posted the third-best first-round score for ULM with an even-par 71. His round began with 12-straight pars, including nine on the front nine, before a birdie at four moved him to 1-under-par. Gilbert maintained that score for the next three holes, until a bogey at eight coupled with a par at nine left him at even par alongside six others in 40th place.
 
Otto Van Buynder began his second tournament of the season with eight pars and a birdie in the first nine holes of the day. He shot a 2-over-par 37 over the next nine holes and finished the opening round tied for 47th at 1-over 72.
 
Jeff Berry completed the scorecard for the Warhawks with an opening-round 5-over-par 76 to finish in a four-way tie for 82nd.
 
The tournament continues on Saturday, Sept. 15 and concludes on Sunday, Sept. 16 with 18 holes scheduled each day.
 
 ULM FIRST-ROUND RESULTS / LOUISVILLE CARDINAL CHALLENGE
 

Pl.	Individual	Tournament	Date	1st Rd.
t-7.	ULM	Louisville Cardinal Challenge	Sept. 14	281
t-16.	Keegan McLachlan	Louisville Cardinal Challenge	Sept. 14	69
t-16.	Joao Girao	Louisville Cardinal Challenge	Sept. 14	69
t-40.	Michael Gilbert	Louisville Cardinal Challenge	Sept. 14	71
t-47.	Otto Van Buynder	Louisville Cardinal Challenge	Sept. 14	72
t-82.	Jeff Berry	Louisville Cardinal Challenge	Sept. 14	76