University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs, Kisner On Top At NCAA Championships
June 01, 2005 | Men's Golf
June 1, 2005
Photo Gallery
OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Kevin Kisner's confidence level was at an all-time high on Wednesday during and after the first round of the NCAA Championships at Caves Valley Golf Club.
The Georgia junior fired a 5-under-par 65 to grab a share of the first-round lead and helped park the Bulldogs at the top of the leaderboard. As a team, the second-ranked Bulldogs carded a 6-under 274 for a 5-stroke advantage over SEC rival Tennessee.
Kisner, a native of Aiken, S.C., is a two-time All-American for the Bulldogs, but he has struggled mightily this spring. Kisner had been averaging 76.25 since February with un-Kisner-like rounds of 90, 83, 82 and two 81s. But his scores in the last five rounds, capped by Wednesday's, have steadily declined.
"I know I've been struggling, but I wasn't expecting anything less out of myself today," Kisner said. "I tee it up every time expecting to shoot a 65. I might have surprised some other people, but I didn't surprise myself. I knew it was coming."
And it couldn't have come at a better time. The Bulldogs and the Volunteers were the only teams in the field to post red numbers on Wednesday, and Kisner's play had the gallery buzzing in this Baltimore suburb.
Kisner had five birdies and a bogey-free round on Caves Valley's par-70, 7,131-yard layout. His birdies came at Nos. 16 (his seventh hole of the day as Georgia opened on the back nine), 1, 5, 6 and 9. Kisner shared the first-round lead with Augusta State's Major Manning, and they have a 1-shot lead over Georgia Southern's Aron Price.
"That's Kevin's first under-par round this spring," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "It's been frustrating for him and for all of us. When a teammate is struggling and trying to figure it out, it wears on everyone. They saw the pressure on Kevin, and they added extra pressure to themselves. With Kevin playing better today, it was one less thing to worry about."
| |
