LAKE CHARLES, La. — Christian Fanfelle and Sean Meehan are in the top 15 individuals and the UTSA men's golf team is in fourth place after the first day of the Lake Charles Invitational, which teed off Monday at The Country Club at The Golden Nugget (par 72/7,007 yards).
Fanfelle and Meehan are part of a seven-way tie for 13th place at 4-under par and the Roadrunners are in sole possession of fourth in the 18-team field at 18-under 558, as four of the five players in the lineup are below par through 36 holes.
UTSA opened the 54-hole tournament with a 4-under 284 Monday morning before turning in a 14-under 274 in the afternoon, the fourth-best round in school history and the lowest since a 271 in the final round of the 2016 Price's "Give 'Em Five" Invitational in El Paso. Today's 274 was keyed by sub-70 scorecards from Collin Clark (67), Sean Meehan (68) and Michael Rome (68), the first time the Roadrunners have posted three sub-70 numbers in the same round since that 271 in October 2016.
In the team standings, UTSA is just stroke behind ULM (557) and four shots ahead of Texas State, five better than Little Rock and McNeese State and nine in front of No. 18 Arkansas State. No. 43 TCU has the 36-hole lead at 36-under 540, while 10th-ranked Texas Tech is second (548) behind individual leader Sandy Scott (64-65—129).
Fanfelle turned in UTSA's low opening round with a 4-under 68. His season-best scorecard was highlighted by a 31 on the back nine that included a four-hole stretch of an eagle on the par-4 13th hole followed by three consecutive birdies. The freshman from San Antonio carded a 72 in the afternoon that featured his second eagle of the day — a three on the 506-yard, par-5 first — and two more birdies, running his tally to seven for the event.
Meehan opened with a 72 that included a trio of birdies then wrote down a tournament-best three eagles in his afternoon round. The senior from San Antonio had threes on Nos. 1 and 12 and a two on the par-4 10th to go along with a birdie on the second hole en route to a 68, his 18th career sub-70 round.
Fanfelle and Meehan are just one stroke out of a tie for ninth place in the 99-man field.
Michael Rome is just one shot behind that UTSA duo in a tie for 20th at 3-under 141. The sophomore from Austin carded a 73 in the first round before matching Meehan's 68 in the afternoon on the strength of six birdies, three on each side.
Chad Sewell is in a tie for 29th at 2-under 142. The sophomore from Conroe turned in a pair of 1-under 71s. He leads UTSA with nine birdies after registering four in the opening round and five more — including four as part of a 33 on the back nine — in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Collin Clark bounced back from a 77 in the morning to turn in the team's low round of the day with his 67 in round two. The junior from Mansfield recorded six birdies against just one bogey en route to his new career best and third sub-70 card in the last three tournaments. He is tied for 46th at even-par 144.
The final round is slated to tee off at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
