April 24, 2006

Results

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brandon Kolditz
wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 678-2444

WEST POINT, Miss. - With three golfers shooting below par, the University of Memphis men's golf team jumped to a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Conference USA Championship on Monday at the Old Waverly Golf Course.

After two sub-par tournament performances, sophomore Keven Fortin-Simard regained his stroke and led the Tigers in the opening round with a 6-under 66 on the par-72, 7,000-yard course. The score ties the Roberval, Quebec native with SMU's Colt Knost for first place individually.

Memphis also received a spectacular performance from freshman Brad Benjamin. Having played in only one tournament all year, the Rockford, Ill., native qualified for the conference tournament and shot a 5-under 67 in his first competitive round of the spring. One stroke behind Fortin-Simard, Benjamin, who was No. 40 in the Golfweek junior amateur rankings before coming to Memphis, is in third after the first 18 holes.

The Tigers shot a 12-under 276 on Monday and leads second place SMU by two strokes. Memphis has a nine-stroke lead over Tulsa and Houston who both are in third with a 285 (-3), while Rice and UAB are tie for fifth with a 286 (-2). The 276 is the lowest round for the Tigers this season, surpassing the previous season low of 280 by four strokes.

Sophomore Ian Rochester had the U of M's third sub-par performance of the day with a 2-under 70 and is tied for 11th. Sophomore Robbie Greenwell is tied for 28th with a 1-over 73, and junior Lewis Clarke is tied for 46th with a 4-over 76.

The second round of the tournament begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday with the championship concluding on Wednesday.

1    Memphis, U. of       276
T1   Keven Fortin-Simard  33-33  66
3    Brad Benjamin        33-34  67
T11  Ian Rochester        37-33  70
T28  Robbie Greenwell     39-34  73
T46  Lewis Clarke         36-40  76

Fin.  Team	Scores
1     Memphis, U. of       276  -12
2     SMU                  278  -10
3     Tulsa, U. of         285  -3
      Houston, Univ. of    285  -3
5     Rice University      286  -2
      UAB                  286  -2
7     UCF                  288  E
8     UTEP                 291  +3
9     Southern Miss        292  +4
10    East Carolina Univ.  296  +8
11    Marshall University  302  +14
12    Tulane University    308  +20