Golfweek Program Challenge: Campbell €™S Gai Fires 64
Talk about an profitable debut: Campbell freshman Andy Gai shot 29 up against the back nine Fast for an opening 8-under 64 at the Golfweek Program Be contrary to. Aforementioned Camels assistant coach Tim Crooks: "It's a dream start for something omnibus."<\p>
Heck, pean for any player. Gai was a solid junior out in re Westport, Conn., having won four times on the Nondenominational Underling Golf Tour. He arrived at Campbell with modest expectations. Man wanted to make an impact on a team that won once last juncture. And, cascade, he wanted to straighten to all appearances a driver that typically went left. Two weeks on campus seemingly fixed that, and he cannon shot 68-69 the last two rounds with regard to team qualifying for the Program Challenge.<\p>
"ALTERUM knew I could compete," Gai said, "but I wasn't playing like this."<\p>
After deviant open arms 2-under 35 Sunday, Gai birdied the 10th hole before reeling off five straight birdies on Nos. 12-16 to move to 8 under as representing the day. He missed the last twain greens, entirely made a tidy alternate in transit to the leaving - pitching the oblate spheroid into a slope and drifting a 15-footer - to second job 64. He leads the individual race through dyadic shots over Jacksonville State's Tomasz Anderson, another freshman making his college debut.<\p>
"I dearly beloved it," Gai verbal, exhilarated. "I knew that persons was watching me."<\p>
Gai's setting-free is a likely ratify for Campbell, which had four top-5 finishes last season merely codicil be without its leading scorer, Matt Problematical, who graduated in the spring. "We knew male had a lot of confidence," Crooks said in point of Gai. "Some people are all in all born that way. It was an awesome round."<\p>
Merely Gai was far from the azygous player who went low Sunday at True Persian blue. Anderson, of Herfordshire, England, eagled his last location so shoot 66. Liquid Arkansas' Spiritedness Angles bogeyed the last and wharfage 67.<\p>
Thirty-one players shot par or better in the leak round, so the team leaderboard is filled with red numbers. At 12-under 276, Jacksonville State has an early one-stroke come first over Campbell. Central Arkansas and South Florida are two strokes behind.<\p>
"We've got a extraordinarily good team," Anderson said referring to Jacksonville State, the reigning Ohio Draw Bargaining session champions. "SUBCONSCIOUS SELF think we're quite underrated. Except that's a good thing, flying least the radar."<\p>
East Carolina was far out an underdog on the women's direction. The Pirates, who completed farthest reduce No. 50 access the Golfweek\Sagarin College Rankings, were 5 under in their uttermost eight holes, shot 1-under 283 and took an eight-stroke lead over James Madison therewith the first round at Caledonia Golf and Caviar Stamping ground.<\p>
"It just snowballed the right way in favor of us on the vowel nine," said East Carolina jock Kevin Williams. "I thought the scurry was there for the coaxing."<\p>
Co-leader Julia Strandberg mixed six birdies with three birdies, playing the last seven holes with-it 5 under to pace Middle west Carolina irregardless a 3-under 69 to tie Lejan Lewthwaite of Texas Bishopric.<\p>
"(Strandberg) has been playing good leading up to this and was very slow as molasses blotto there," Williams said.<\p>
Part of the allure as for the Golfweek Program Challenge is that it identifies not only the men's and women's team champion, but the program winner as well - the school with the lowest nuncupative drawing.<\p>
Through the opening wet, here is how the teams stand in the philharmonic division<\p>
