WEST PALM BEACH — Nashawn Tyson from Florida Atlantic University shot a 3-under 68 Monday, May 4 at The Park to lead the Men’s Individual division in the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship presented by Chase and Kohler Co.
Tyson made five birdies against two bogeys to gain the early advantage in the first round of the 54-hole tournament that promotes diversity in golf.
The Hall sisters – Alana and Hope- from Boca Raton are in the top five in the Women’s Individual division. Alana (75) is tied for second, eight behind leader Alexis Faieta (67). Hope (76) is tied for fifth.
Earlier Monday, Jacob Alcorta wasn’t used to playing golf in a downpour, but he was raining birdies all over The Park.
The sophomore at Western New Mexico University rolled in a 25-foot putt at the final hole for his seventh birdie of the day to tie J.D. Cunningham for the first-round Division II individual lead at 3-under 68.
“It was really fun to be out there and enjoy making seven birdies. It was a roller coaster,” Alcorta said. “I’ve never played in rain like that before in my life. I’m from the desert, so that was new, but it was kind of cool to see.”
The showers led to a 2½-hour delay during the morning wave, but it didn’t slow down Alcorta once play resumed. He had three birdies on his last six holes.
“Whenever I play smart, I feel like anybody can make a birdie,” Alcorta said. “I’m very proud of how many birdies I made today. Seven birdies is a lot.”
Cunningham, a sophomore at Morehead College, made five birdies against two bogeys during his 68. He played in the first group of the day, setting the tone for the Eagles to open a 3-shot lead at 12-over in the Division II team competition over Western New Mexico University.
“I wanted to shoot something for everybody else to follow,” Cunningham said. “I just knew I was going to play really well today. I just felt it in my heart and obviously in my head, too. I’m happy I shot what I shot today, but I definitely can do better tomorrow.”
Morehouse College coach Edgar Evans was pleased with his team grinding out their scores even though most of them shared Cunningham’s belief they could have shot better.
“It says a lot about our process and being steady,” Evans said. “You can’t win the tournament on the first day, but you can lose it. The best thing is they all thought they could have saved a few shots, and hopefully they’ll do that the next two days.”
North Carolina State University’s Sanaa Carter leads women
Sanaa Carter of North Carolina State University birdied the 18th hole to take the lead in the Women’s Overall Division at 2-over 73. Carter birdied two of her first five holes to lead by a stroke over Thaiz Amezcua of Texas Southern.
“I’m familiar with the course because I played it on the Underrated Tour a few years back and I knew what spots to hit,” Carter said. “I was hitting the ball far today with the wind and I was able to use that to my advantage.”
Amezcua shot her 74 despite playing the par-5s in 2-over. She made two birdies in her last six holes.
“The course was just beautiful,” Amezcua said. “I was just trying to be my best self. I don’t try to compete with everybody else. I try to compete with myself.”
Amezcua helped Texas Southern take a one-shot lead over defending champion Texas A&M International-Corpus Christi at 26-over.
“My ladies had a good day today,” coach Willie Shankle said. “That rain delay kind of set us back a little bit, but they regrouped. They made a lot of big putts. Hopefully, tomorrow we can hit the ball in the fairway, hit the ball on the green and the putts won’t be as long.”
Because of the rain delay, the men’s Division I team division, the Women’s Overall Division and the Men’s Overall Division didn’t finish their first rounds on Monday.
Faieta of North Carolina Wilmington leads the Women’s Individual division after a 4-under 67 that included an eagle, hole-out from the sand on the par-4 14th hole.
Florida A&M leads the Men’s Division I at 1-under through 14 holes, four ahead of North Carolina AT&T State University. Sascha Robinson of Florida A&M is tied for the Men’s Division I Medalist lead at 4-under with Andrea Roman of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Play resumes early Tuesday with players in Monday’s afternoon wave staying in the same pairings for the second round. The PWCC is televised on Golf Channel from 4-7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU’s Nashawn Tyson leads men in PGA WORKS Collegiate golf tournament
Reporting by Craig Dolch, Special to The Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
