SAN ANTONIO — Paced by a trio of even-par rounds from Walker Franklin, David Harrison and Jack Wehman, the UTSA men’s golf team is in seventh place after the first round of the Valero Texas Collegiate, which got underway Saturday at TPC San Antonio Oaks Course (par 72/7,034 yards).
The Roadrunners posted a 2-over-par 290, just one shot behind Baylor and two shy of fifth-place Virginia. UTSA has a three-shot lead on Liberty and is five strokes in front Louisville in the 12-team field led by Vanderbilt (-5).
Franklin fired a 72 on the strength of three birdies in his UTSA debut. The junior transfer from Louisville countered a bogey on his second hole with a birdie on the 186-yard, par-3 seventh for a 36 on the front nine. He added a pair of birdies on the back to put himself in a tie for 14th with 36 holes left.
Harrison had two birdies on each side en route to a 72 to also grab a share of 14th. The Trophy Club, Texas, native birdied two of the four par threes and also circled his number on the 589-yard, par-5 eighth and on the 337-yard, par-4 17th.
Wehman joined the even-par party behind a pair of birdies that bookended his opening round. The Austin native wrote down a three on the 425-yard first and a four on the 550-yard 18th to highlight his Saturday.
Senior Hunter Bott provided the other counting score for UTSA with a 2-over 74 that featured three birdies, while freshman Brock Blais turned in a 75 behind two birdies in his first tournament as a Roadrunner.
Oklahoma’s Stephen Campbell Jr. posted the low round of the day with a 4-under 68 to take a one-shot lead in the individual race for the exemption into the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
The second round of the Valero Texas Collegiate is set for Sunday and the Roadrunners will tee off from No. 10 beginning at 10:10 a.m. Admission is free.
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