PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Hunter Bott paced the UTSA men’s golf team with a 74 on the opening day of The Hayt, which teed off on Saturday at Sawgrass Country Club (par 72/6,966 yards).
Bott’s 2-over-par scorecard featured a trio of birdies and has the senior from Montgomery, Texas, in a tie for 25th with 36 holes left to play over the next two days. The all-conference performer posted birdies on the 411-yard, par-4 second and 536-yard, par-5 eighth holes as part of an even-par 36 on the front. He closed his day with another circled number on the 52-yard, par-5 18th to give him a team-high three for the round.
Behind Bott’s 74, the Roadrunners are in 12th place after posting a 308, three strokes ahead of American Athletic Conference foe Charlotte and only five shots out of the top 10. UTSA is one back of Coastal Carolina and three behind No. 23 Duke in the field that features seven nationally ranked squads.
Walker Franklin posted UTSA’s second-best score of the day with a 76 that was highlighted by a three on the 425-yard, par-4 fifth hole. The junior transfer is tied for 41st in the 84-man field.
Playing in his hometown, Brock Blais has a share of 54th after turning in a 78 that included back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17-18 to close his round.
David Harrison is tied for 68th (80) and Jack Wehman is 79th (82) to round out the UTSA lineup.
No. 21 Alabama leads the event at 6-under 282, followed by No. 26 Ohio State (-2) and top-ranked North Carolina (+1).
There is a three-way deadlock for the individual lead at 3-under between Alabama’s Canon Claycomb, Jacksonville’s Alexandre Vandermoten and Ohio State’s Neal Shipley.
The second round is slated for Sunday.
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