BELLEAIR, Fla. — Hunter Bott is in a tie for 15th place and UTSA is in 10th after the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship, which teed off on Friday at Pelican Golf Club (par 70/6,881 yards).
Bott carded an even-par 70 to pace the Roadrunners in the first of three rounds in their inaugural AAC Championship appearance. The senior logged three birdies on Friday en route to his 13th par-or-better scorecard of the season.
A native of Montgomery, Texas, Bott opened the event with back-to-back pars before recording a two on the 198-yard third hole. The all-conference performer then reeled off three more pars followed by a birdie on the 542-yard, par-5 seventh and two more pars to close out a 2-under 33 on the front side.
Bott started the back with another circled number, a three on the 462-yard 10th that moved him to 3-under for the day before settling for three bogeys down the stretch. He is one of 13 players with a share of 15th, four shots off the pace set by Charlotte’s Conor Gough and North Texas’ Tucker Allen.
Brock Blais is two shots behind Bott in a tie for 31st after posting a 72. Playing in his home state, the freshman also had three birdies in his opening round. He began his day with a three on the 328-yard first and also recorded birdies on the 445-yard, par-4 eighth and 529-yard, par-5 14th holes.
The other three Roadrunners in Friday’s lineup all turned in a 73, good for a tie for 38th.
David Harrison, a senior out of Trophy Club, Texas, saw his opening round highlighted by back-to-back birdies on the 369-yard, par-4 sixth and 542-yard, par-5 seventh holes.
Walker Franklin registered a team-high four birdies in the opening round, as the junior transfer had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6-7 and Nos. 17-18.
Jack Wehman, a junior from Austin, also had birdies on consecutive holes with a four on the 529-yard 14th and a two on the 221-yard 15th.
UTSA is in a tie with Temple for 10th in the team standings at 8-over par after posting a 288. The Roadrunners are four shots ahead of Florida Atlantic and only two strokes behind East Carolina with 36 holes left to play.
No. 42 SMU has the day-one lead at 3-under 277, followed by Wichita State (279), Memphis (280), No. 48 South Florida (281) and Charlotte (282) in the top five.
The second round is slated for Saturday and the Roadrunners will tee off from No. 10 beginning at 7 a.m. CT.
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