SARASOTA, Fla. — Francisco Solorza fired a 1-under-par 71 to pace UTSA in round one of the American Conference Men’s Golf Championship, which teed off Monday at Ritz-Carlton Members Club (par 72/7,417 yards).
Solorza’s red number helped him earn a share of 18th place and the Roadrunners register a 3-over 291 on the opening day of the 54-hole event. UTSA is in ninth place, five shots ahead of Florida Atlantic and six in front of Temple while sitting only one stroke behind Wichita State.
Starting on No. 10, Solorza reeled off four straight pars before back-to-back birdies steered him to 2-under par. He recorded a three on the 376-yard 14th and a four on the 559-yard 15th holes but then settled for a double bogey on No. 16 that pushed him back to even par. The redshirt freshman from Mexico then posted nine pars in a row before circling his number on the 448-yard, par-4 eighth to get back in the red. He then closed with a par on the 470-yard ninth on his way to notching his 10th par-or-better scorecard of the season, all coming during the spring portion of the schedule.
Brayden Bare is one shot behind Solorza in a tie for 26th after turning in an even-par 72. The redshirt junior from Waco registered 16 pars to go with a birdie on the 321-yard, par-4 fifth hole against only one bogey.
Joshua Hong has a share of 33rd after posting a 1-over 73. The true freshman from Mexico logged a team-high six birdies on the day, three on each side.
David Martinez, a sophomore from Houston, and Logan Vargas, a senior out of Lubbock, are part of a tie for 44th after each tallied a 75.
No. 22 Charlotte leads the team standings at 17-under par, followed by a tie for second between Memphis and Rice (-16). East Carolina, South Florida and UAB all are tied for fourth (-6).
Cian O’Connor of Memphis carded a 7-under 65 to claim the individual lead.
The second round is slated for Tuesday with the Roadrunners teeing off from No. 10 beginning at 8:28 a.m. CT.
Live scoring can be followed online at scoreboard.clippd.com. Live video coverage of the final round can be found on ESPN+with Sean Salisbury and Savanna Collins on the call. For more information about the conference tournament, please visit Tournament Central.
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