Dogs' golfer tied for second at NCAA championships

HOT SPRINGS, VIRGINIA - Georgia's Kevin Kisner had just shot the second-lowest round on the first day of the NCAA Championships here on Tuesday, yet he wasn't satisfied.

California's Jeff Hood shot a 5-under 65 to help the Golden Bears take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the NCAA Golf Championships on Tuesday.

Kisner carded a 4-under 66 at the Homestead's Cascades Course to stand just one shot behind Hood in the individual race. Moreover, Kisner's round sparked the third-ranked Bulldogs to a 5-over 285, leaving them in a tie for seventh.
The Golden Bears shot a 1-under 279 on the 6,679-yard Cascades Golf Course. Brigham Young (280) was second, a stroke ahead of TCU (281). Auburn and Kentucky (283) rounded out the top five.

Southern Cal (284), defending national champion Clemson, Florida and Georgia (285) and Oklahoma (286) rounded out the top 10. Vanderbilt was 14 over at 294, 15 shots off the lead.

But rather than celebrate or look forward to the dinner buffet at the hotel, Kisner couldn't wait to get back on the driving range. He and his teammates logged about 30 minutes there until a late afternoon thunderstorm chased them.

"I just wanted to work on some things," said Kisner, a sophomore from Aiken, S.C. "I don't feel like I've been playing that well lately. I didn't hit the ball all that well today, but I putted great. I'm just trying to get my confidence up, and today certainly will help."

Georgia coach Chris Haack said Kisner, already a two-time first-team All-SEC pick, can be his own worst critic.

"What's been happening to him is he hits the ball well enough, but he doesn't make a putt here or there or he misses an up and down, and suddenly a round that could be a 68 goes to a 72," Haack said. "He made some key putts today and that gave him the momentum to get in the house with a good round."

Thanks to Kisner, who had four birdies and no bogeys, the Bulldogs will head into Wednesday's second round only six shots behind No. 20 California and tied with No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Clemson. That is well within Haack's comfort zone.

"In this format, anything within 10 shots is still in the ballgame," Haack said. "Things can change so fast either way. All we need to do is have a nice, solid second round and then follow that up the same way in the third round. We want to keep ourselves in position to let it all hang out in the fourth round."

"We've all got to play well in the second round," said sophomore Richard Scott, one of three Bulldogs to shoot a 3-over 73 on Tuesday. "Kevin bailed us out with a really good round today. We need five consistent guys in the second round. If we can all shoot around even par, that would be a good place to be."

Scott and freshmen Brendon Todd and Chris Kirk each shot 73 to stand in the tie for 64th. Junior David Denham is tied for 108th after shooting a 6-over 76.

"As big as Kisner's 66 was, I think Kirk's 73 was also pretty big for us," Haack said. "Here's a freshman who admitted that he was nervous and he was 4-over after three holes, but he settled down and came back strong. That's going to be a valuable learning experience for him."

The Bulldogs will tee off on Wednesday from 7:45 to 8:21 a.m. Live scoring will be available at golfstatlive.com.