The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's golf team opened the day with a near record-setting performance and the Cru holds the lead after the opening two rounds of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament Tuesday in Kerrville. The UMHB men will carry a 12-stroke advantage into the tournament's final round.
The Cru posted a blistering 276 in the opening round to build a 16-shot lead. UMHB followed with a 283 and that 276-283=559 total is good for a 12-stroke lead over U.T. Tyler's 292-279=571. Concordia Texas is in third place with a 292-296=588, Hardin-Simmons posted 306-298=604 for fourth place and LeTourneau University rounds out the top five with a 300-306=606 team score. There is an eight-team field competing in the tournament.
"We played a very strong day one today and I'm especially proud of our effort on such a long 36-hole day," UMHB Head Coach Jordan Cox said. "Our team is experienced and recognizes that the job isn't complete until tomorrow. In fact, that's the first thing they said when we left the course today, how much they are looking forward to competing in the same pairing as U.T. Tyler and Concordia tomorrow."
The Cru's Mats Heien holds the individual lead after posting a 64-69=133 for 11 under par. Alden Fortner is tied for second place after posting 72-69=141, Kyle Revis (75-71) and Jarrod Brown (72-74) are tied for tenth place with 146's and Mason Wyatt is tied for 13th place after carding a 68-80=148.
"Mats played an absolutely stellar first round today," Cox said. "It was special to witness. He managed the course and his game extremely well the entire day."
The Cru's opening round 276 is the second-lowest team round in program history, trailing only the 275 the team posted in the final round of the 2016 UMHB Fall Invitational. The two-round total of 559 is a new ASC Tournament low for the UMHB men and is one stroke off of the program record for low 36-hole score. Heien's first-round 64 is the lowest round to par in program history at eight under. It matches the 64 shot by Johnathan Sustaita on a par-70 course at the Schreiner Fall Classic in 2011. Heien's 133 breaks the individual 36-hole UMHB record by three strokes. Wyatt's opening round 68 is also a new career low for him.
The two-day, 54-hole event is being played on a par-72, 7,059-yard layout at Comanche Trace Golf Course in Kerrville. Teams will tee off for Wednesday's final round with an 8:00 AM shotgun start. UMHB has won six ASC Championships and has five runner-up finishes. The ASC Tournament champion will clinch the league's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III National Championships.
