Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Ready for Second Day at NCAAs
5/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 20, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - This was not the kind of splash Mike Watney had in mind for his golf team.
Rain delayed the opening round of the 2010 NCAA West Regional in Bremerton, Wash., for about 90 minutes. For Fresno State, that was bad news because the Dogs were one of the last teams to tee off and played through the wettest course conditions once they got on the course, including some hail.
Watney, a Hall of Fame Coach who's taken 26 teams to NCAA tournaments through the years, took a very young line-up to the 2010 NCAA tournament. All five players will be returning next year and two of them didn't figure to be in the line-up this late in the season as of a month ago.
The lack of NCAA experience and tough weather conditions were a little too much to overcome on the first day of the NCAA championships in the rain and chilly Northwest. Fresno State stands in 13th place after the first 18 holes after shooting its worst round of the season (318), 30-over par.
"It's a tough golf course and can really separate the field if you are not playing well," said Watney. "Nobody was on their game today. We had a real tough time putting. When you aren't playing well and you look at the leaderboards and see other people playing well you start pressing and that's never a good thing. You almost always start playing worse. It was just one of those days when nobody played well on a tough golf course and that's why you see the score we shot."
Leading the way for the Dogs were Brian Sunker and Bryan Hogan who each shot 79s and are tied for 57th place. Junior Michael Gideon and sophomore Bhavik Patel are one shot back with rounds of 80 and tied for 65th. Freshman Tim Toste shot an 87.
The Dogs resume play on Friday with the second round at the Gold Mountain Course. The weather forecast calls for more rain Friday and some sun on Saturday, which is scheduled for the final round of 18 holes.
Washington has a 5-stroke lead over the field on its home course and finished the day posting a score of 286, which is 2 -under par. Oregon State and Colorado State are tied for second place with a 291 each, 3-over par.
The top five teams from each of the six regional sites will advance to the NCAA Finals in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"We are Your Team!" The Bulldog men's golf team continues play at the 2010 NCAA regional championships this weekend at the Gold Mountain Regional in Bremerton, Wash. Following the tournament live via GOLFSTAT
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