Simon Zach Fires 71 on First Day of the NCAA Championships

Friday, May 27

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

University of Louisville

NCAA Championship

Simon Zach Fires 71 on First Day of the NCAA Championships

May 27, 2016 | Men's Golf

Freshman recorded two birdies on the afternoon in his first NCAA Championship

By: Rocco Gasparro

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville head men' golf coach Mark Crabtree took his young team across the country to compete in its first NCAA Championship since 2008, and with two freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup, no one knew how the Cardinals would respond.

After day one of the championships, the Crabtree saw a lot of good things after the first 18 holes at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., and his young squad is in contention despite a slow start.

Freshman Simon Zach fired a 1-over par 71 to pace the Cardinals on Friday. The native of Prague, Czech Republic, fired birdies on No. 4 and No. 9 to stand in a tie for 33rd place. He was instrumental in guiding the Cards to the championships after he fired a final round 71 in the NCAA Stillwater Regional.

As a team, the Cardinals are knotted up with four other schools after firing an 11-over par 291. UofL is tied with Oregon, South Florida, Georgia and fellow ACC foe Clemson. All five teams are just nine shots off the lead after the first day of competition. Arkansas and TCU are tied for the overall lead at 2-over par, while USC and Vanderbilt are deadlocked for third place.

"We struggled out of the game, which set us back," Crabtree said. "We battled back on the back nine and played well. We received great contributions from J.J. (Lehman) and Simon (Zach). Robin (Sciot-Siegrist) had an unusual day, but I'm confident he will be better on Saturday."

Freshman Erik Dulik and junior J.D. Lehman shot a 3-over par 73 for the Cardinals on day one. After shooting 25-over par in the regional, Dulik responded with three birdies on the front nine, including two on the final three holes. He is tied for 72nd place after his first round. Lehman also came back after a tough regional to record three birdies of his own, scoring No. 12, No. 2 and No. 4.

Senior Robin Sciot-Siegrist, who is playing in his second NCAA Championship, didn't record a birdie in the morning round and fired a 4-over par 74 to sit in a tie for 87th place. Freshman Keegan de Lange carded a 5-over par 75 to end the round in a tie for 103rd place.

The Cardinals will tee off with Houston and TCU at 11:50 a.m. (ET) on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Championship.