HUMBLE, Texas — Christian Fanfelle is tied for second place and the UTSA men's golf team is in fourth after the first round of the All-American Intercollegiate, which got underway Sunday at the Golf Club of Houston's Tournament Course (par 72/7,067 yards).
Fanfelle fired a 5-under 67 that was highlighted by six birdies, including four as part of a 4-under 32 on the back nine. With 36 holes left to play, the sophomore from San Antonio is one shot off the pace set by Wake Forest's Mark Power, the 22nd-ranked player in the NCAA. The 67 marks his best round as a Roadrunner and the fifth sub-70 scorecard of his young collegiate career.
Fanfelle was one of three Roadrunners to break par in the first round, as Chad Sewell and Adam House each posted a 2-under 70 to help UTSA card a 7-under 281, four shots out of the lead. The Birds trail eighth-ranked Wake Forest and Louisiana by three strokes in the 13-team field led by Sam Houston State (277). The Roadrunners are eight shots in front of fifth-place ULM and nine ahead of Rice, and they hold double-digit leads on a pair of nationally ranked squads in No. 30 South Carolina and No. 32 Houston.
Sewell and House are part of a seven-way tie for 12th at 2-under par.
Playing near his hometown of Conroe, Sewell wrote down three birdies and a team-best 14 pars in his opening round, while House matched Fanfelle with six birdies, three on each side.
Hunter Bott is tied for 38th after providing UTSA's fourth counting score with a 74 that included a trio of birdies.
Collin Clark registered a 75 behind a pair of birdies and is in a tie for 48th.
Altogether, the Roadrunners recorded 20 birdies, the third-best total in the field,
Competing as an individual, Will Adams is tied for 72nd after turning in a 79.
The second round is set for Monday and the Roadrunners will tee off of No. 1 beginning at 8:45 a.m.
-UTSA-
