April 29, 2007

TEXARKANA, ARk. - The University of Memphis men's golf team starts out strong after day one of competition at the Conference USA Championships in Texarkana, Ark. The Tigers finished second after round one of play, with three golfers in the Top-20 going into Monday's second round.

Memphis finished second in round one, after shooting an even 288. The Tigers are just three strokes behind the leader. Memphis is looking to earn their first Conference USA title in school history, after finishing fourth in last year's competition. After day one, the Tigers managed to put three golfers in the Top-20.

Sophomore golfer Brad Benjamin, who finished third in the conference tournament last year, is one of three tigers in the Top-20. Benjamin tied for second after shooting a 3-under-par 69, putting him one stroke away from first place. The Rockford, Ill., native had two eagles in the first round. He averaged a 3.80 (-2) on par four scoring and a 4.25 (-3) on par five scoring.

Junior Ian Rochester is another Tiger in the Top-20 after the first round of competition. Rochester tied for fifth after shooting a 1-under-par 71. The junior tallied 15 pars. The Cordova, Tenn., native averaged an even 3.00 on par three scoring and an even 4.00 on par four scoring. Rochester is looking to beat his 29th place finish from last year.

The third Tiger to finish in the Top-20 is junior golfer Kyle Ritchie. Ritchie tied for 17th after shooting a 1-over-par 73. The junior tallied 4 birdies in the first round and averaged an even 3.00 on par three scoring. The Corning, Iowa, native is competing in his first Conference USA tournament and his hoping to finish strong.

Robbie Greenwell, the junior from Georgetown, Ontario, finished the first round tied for 28th place. Greenwell shot a 3-over-par 75. The junior finished the tournament in 17th last year and is looking to improve this year.

Freshman Brandon Bunn is competing in his first Conference USA tournament. The Knoxville, Tenn., native finished the first round tied for 39th place after shooting a 5-over-par 77. Bunn also tallied one eagle in day one of competition. He is looking to improve over the next two rounds.

In first place after day one of competition is Tulsa. Tulsa shot a 3-under-par 285, just three strokes ahead of Memphis. Right behind Memphis is UTEP, shooting a 3-over-par 291. In individual competition, Ryan Henry from Tulsa leads the way, shooting a 4-under-par 68. Tied in second with Benjamin is Garrett Osborn from UAB.

The second round of the tournament will take place on Monday.