Red Raiders in Contention at Myrtle Beach Regional

MURRELLS INLET, South Carolina – Texas Tech is tied for seventh and senior Ivan Ramirez is eighth individually after shooting 2-under-par on Monday in the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Regional at TPC of Myrtle Beach.

The Red Raiders posted a 1-over 289 team total in the first round of the NCAA regional, while No. 23 Illinois leads the tournament after opening at 9-under at the par 72 course that is playing at 6,950 yards for the championship. Ohio State is second at 4-under followed by No. 3 Wake Forest and No. 27 Florida State who are both at 2-under and No. Cal and No. 34 UNLV who are tied for fifth just one shot ahead of Tech.

“I felt like today was pretty good, but it’s not going to show on the scoreboard,” Texas Tech coach Greg Sands said. “I felt like we did some nice things though. We know what we need to do and I’m confident with this group with two days left. We’re going to try to control the things we can control by staying patient. We’ve played a really hard schedule for a reason and I’m really confident in what I see in them and how they are executing. It’s just a matter of time before it shows up in a big way on the scoreboard.”

The second of three rounds is scheduled to begin at 7:25 a.m. (CST) for the Red Raiders with the final round on Wednesday.

Ramirez put himself in the top-10 of the leaderboard with a 70 by shooting 4-under on the back-9 of the opening round and finishing the round at 2-under. A senior playing in his third NCAA regional, Ramirez birdied holes 12, 14, 17 and 18 to finish with a 70. He had started the day at 2-over on the front-9, bogeying two holes and making par on seven. His back-9 included making birdie on both par 5s and also a birdie on the par-4 No. 12 hole before finishing his first round with a bird on the 538-yard par 5 No. 18.

Kyle Hogan, who is playing in his first regional tournament, shot 1-under with an opening round highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 No. 6 hole on the Myrtle Beach course. A sophomore, Hogan recorded the eagle, three birdies and 10 pars on Monday. He was 3-under on the four par 5s on the course after making a bogey on the finishing hole. Sandy Scott shot 74 after he recorded four birdies in his opening round with two on the front and back-9, but was at 2-over on the day after also making four bogeys and a double. He ended his day with a birdie on No. 18, along with Blomme who made three birdies in the round. Adam Blomme, who finished in the top-10 at the regional tournament last season, was 3-over on the front nine before making three birdies on the back side to finish at 2-over for the round. Blomme and Scott will go into the second round tied for 35th. Jansen Smith shot a 75 in his first regional round, matching Scott for the team lead with four birdies but also making two bogeys, a double and a triple for a round of 75. A freshman from San Angelo, Smith birdie three of the 10 par 4s on the course and also recorded a birdie on the par 5, 522-yard No. 6 hole. He is currently 48th at the regional.

Illinois freshman Adrien Dumon de Chassart leads the tournament after carding a 5-under with six birdies, while Caleb Ramirez (Ohio State), Will Voetsch (Ohio State), Zach Taylor (Coastal Carolina) and Michael Feagles (Illinois) are in a four-way tie for fourth after shooting 4-under 68s on Monday. Illinois leads the tournament by making 24 birdies in the opening round, while the Red Raiders had 18 as a team. As a team, Tech is 7-under on par 5s going into the second day.

Smith is set to begin the second round on Tuesday for the Red Raiders with a 7:25 a.m. tee time followed by Blomme (7:36), Hogan (7:47), Ramirez (7:58) and Scott (8:09). Tech will be paired with Oregon and Cal State-Fullerton for the second round. The Ducks are tied with the Red Raiders at 1-over through the opening round, while Fullerton is in ninth after shooting a 292 on Monday.

The NCAA regional round consists of six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted Monday-Wednesday throughout the country. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.

Team and individual medalist titles will be decided May 24-29 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The University of Arkansas is the host institution for the 2019 championships.