Golf tied for fifth after first day of Atlantic 10 Championships :: Strong front nine overcome by struggles on back

May 2, 2008

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - Thanks to strong play on the front nine of Panther Lake Golf Course at Orange County National Golf Center, the St. Bonaventure golf team finished its opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championships on Friday with a team score of four-over par 293, good for a tie for fifth place.

The Brown and White ate up the course's opening nine holes, finishing a combined one-under thanks to eight birdies. The back nine proved problematic for the Bonnies as 16 bogeys - more than three times as many as the opening nine - resulted in a team score of 10-over par.

"We left some shots out there today, but overall I'm pleased with our first day," said head coach Steve Campbell. "It doesn't matter how many A-10 Championships you've played in you're still going to have some jitters on the opening day. I know this group of guys will be ready to go tomorrow."

Depending champ Charlotte sits in a tie with Rhode Island atop the leader board at 10-under par 278. Led by Rob Chappell's eight-under par 64, Dayton (279) is one stroke back in sole possession of third place, while fourth place Xavier (292) is a stroke ahead of the Bonnies.

Junior Brennan Payne led the way for St. Bonaventure with a one-under par 71. Payne's day featured a team-high 15 pars, two birdies and a team-low one bogey. The Arcade, N.Y. native carded all pars on the front nine and finished the final nine as the only Bonnies under-par at -1.

The senior duo of Ryan Swanson and Andy Whalen each finished with two-over par 74s. Both came into the turn at two-under par 34, but finished with 40s. Swanson and Whalen's scorecards were adventurous, as they identically featured eight pars, six birdies and four bogeys. They stand in a tie for 20th place individually.

The fourth St. Bonaventure score came from sophomore Nathan Peck, who also turned in a two-over par 74 giving the Bonnies four players in the field's top 20. Peck played the back nine to an even-par 36 and dealt a 38 on the front. Freshman Chris Stoddard turned in a solid round in his first-ever appearance at A-10's with a four-over par 76.

St. Bonaventure will be paired with fourth-place Xavier and fellow fifth-place member Richmond in Saturday's second round. The trio of teams will tee-off at 8 a.m. on holes 6-10. Update-to-date team and individual scores can be found on the "Live Stats" link in the schedule and results section on the golf homepage on www.gobonnies.com.