TEXARKANA, Ark. — Hunter Bott and Michael Rome have a share of third place and the UTSA men's golf team is in third in the team standings after the first round of the Conference USA Championship, which teed off on Monday at Texarkana Country Club (par 72/6,969 yards).
Bott and Rome each carded a 3-under-par 69 to help the Roadrunners post a 3-under 285, good for third place behind Florida Atlantic (281) and Rice (284) in the 13-team field. UTSA has a one-shot lead on Southern Miss and is two strokes ahead of UTEP with 36 holes left to play to determine the top four teams that will advance to Thursday's match play.
Birdies were plentiful for the Roadrunners in the opening 18 holes, as UTSA posted a tournament-best 22 across its five-man lineup. Bott, Christian Fanfelle and David Harrison each recorded five apiece, while Rome had four and Jack Wehman registered three.
Bott's 69 featured the five birdies as well as an eagle on the 555-yard, par-5 12th hole. The junior from Montgomery carded a 3-under 33 on the back en route to his fifth sub-70 scorecard of the season. He opened the week with back-to-back birdies and bounced back from a stretch of three bogeys with another birdie on the seventh.
Rome circled his number on four holes, all on the back nine where he turned in a 4-under 32, on his way to his fifth sub-70 round of his super senior campaign. The Austin Westlake High product posted three birdies in a row on Nos. 11-13 and again on the 17th, while settling for a bogey just once — on No. 5 — on the first day.
Bott and Rome share third place with Rice's Raghav Chugh, as that trio is two shots off the pace of 5-under set by Marshall's Tyler Jones.
Fanfelle is in a tie for 25th place after logging a 1-over 73 on the strength of his five birdies, while Harrison and Wehman both posted a 74, good for a share of 31st.
The second round is scheduled for Tuesday and the Roadrunners will be paired with Florida Atlantic and Rice with tee times off No. 1 starting at 9:20 a.m.
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