Johnson Sits Two Shots Off the Lead at the NCAA Championship; Cards In a Tie for 17th

Friday, May 28

Scottsdale, Ariz./Grayhawk GC

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University of Louisville

The NCAA Championship

MGOLF: Trevor Johnson hits it straight down the fairway

Johnson Sits Two Shots Off the Lead at the NCAA Championship; Cards In a Tie for 17th

May 28, 2021 | Men's Golf

By: Rocco Gasparro

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Playing in the practice round on Thursday prior to the start of the 2021 NCAA Golf Championship, University of Louisville senior Trevor Johnson knew he was facing a challenge at the difficult Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The fifth-year senior knew he had to adjust his game if he was going to compete on this course, and that's exactly what Johnson did during Friday's first round of the championship.

As a team, the Cardinals finished the first round in a tie for 17^th place with Georgia Tech after shooting a 9-over-par 289. UofL is only two shots away from reaching the top 10 and one shot out of 15^th place – the spot needed to advance to Monday's round.

Texas Tech, one of only three teams to shoot under par, owns the lead at 4-under-par and Sam Houston is second at 2-under-par. Pepperdine is third at 1-under.
The Cardinals will tee off for Saturday's second round at 3:25 p.m. EST.

Johnson tied a school record for the lowest score in NCAA Championship history by firing a 68 on Friday. He tied Adam Rainaud's 68 during the 2007 championship in Williamsburg, Va.

"It was a good day out there," Johnson said. Coach (Blagg) and I had a good game plan coming into today's round. We talked about it yesterday. It'd different out here. The ball is traveling a lot farther out here because of the heat and the altitude. It was a big adjustment for me today, but I was pleased with my round."

Johnson, who's tied for fifth place overall, enters Saturday's second round just two shots off the overall lead after carding a 2-under-par on Friday. Purdue's Cole Bradley, who's playing as an individual, holds the one-day lead at 4-under-par.

Johnson was one of only 27 players to shoot under par during the first round.

Appearing in his second NCAA Championship, Johnson -- who didn't finish in his first trip in 2019 -- recorded five of his team's nine birdies.

He notched two of them in the first nine holes to shoot even-par on the back and responded with three on the front to get to his round of 2-under for the day.

"I made a few key putts out there. I just stuck to my game plan. It was big. I made some big shots coming down the stretch, so I was pleased with my round."

Jiri Zuska carded a 1-over-par 71 with a consistent round. He opened the championship with seven-straight par before two consecutive bogeys on No. 17 and No. 18. He added four more pars to open his second nine holes and would record birdies on No. 6 and No. 8 to sit in a tie for 43rd.

Matthias Schmid, who qualified this week for the U.S. Open, shot a 2-over-par 72 in his first round to close in a tie for 55^th place. He played well, shooting a 1-under on each side. He recorded only three bogeys on the difficult par-70 course and registered his only birdie on No. 2.

John Murphy and Max Kennedy are tied for 141^st-place after shooting an 8-over-par 78.