Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Morris Williams Intercollegiate
Ward Tied in Sixth Place in Austin
March 30, 2009 | Men's Golf
March 30, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - Sophomore Chris Ward (McKinney, Texas) carded rounds of 70 and 75 on day one of the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas, and sits in a tied for sixth place with the third and final round remaining Tuesday.
Ward opened play with a 1-under par 70 and was tied in second place following the morning's opening round at The University of Texas Golf Club's par-71, 7,412-yard course. Senior Garrett Merrell (Dallas, Texas), bounced back from a first-round 78 with a 70 in the second to vault into the top 20, tied in 16th place.
Junior Will Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) turned in a pair of 77s, while freshman Nils Floren (Ljungstile, Sweden), the nation's No. 17-ranked golfer, struggled on the day with a 77 and 79. Senior Santiago Rivas (Cali, Colombia) had to withdraw in the opening round due to a wrist injury.
Without Rivas in the lineup, Texas Tech has to rely on each of the four remaining scores without the option of dropping the highest. The 10th-ranked Red Raiders posted a 302 in the opening round and followed with a 301 to finish the day in eighth place.
Redshirt freshman Brian Scherer (Midland, Texas), playing as an individual, is tied in 51st place with rounds of 79 and 75.
Oklahoma State dominated the field with a 1-over 569 on the day and leads second-place Southern California by 15 strokes. Arkansas and Texas are third and fourth, respectively, while Pepperdine and TCU are tied in fifth place. SMU is in seventh, followed by the Red Raiders, while Baylor, UNLV and Texas A&M are all tied in ninth place. Tulsa, New Mexico State, BYU, Oklahoma, Rice, New Mexico and Air Force round out the field.
The third and final round gets underway at 8 a.m. CT Tuesday. Live scoring of the event is available at www.golfstat.com.
