Baylor MGOLF Off to a Solid Start in San Antonio

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 9, 2023

Baylor MGOLF Gets Off to a Solid Start in San Antonio
BU’s Keefer cards the round of the day for the Bears at the Valero Texas Collegiate
For more information, contact Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

SAN ANTONIO – Johnny Keefer’s 3-under 69 paced Baylor men’s golf to a strong opening round at the Valero Texas Collegiate on Saturday.

With three Bears in the top 25, BU sits in sixth place after 18 holes with a 1-over 289. Keefer is in a tie for second, a shot back of the overnight leader, Oklahoma’s Stephen Campbell Jr.

Vanderbilt leads the event after one round on the heels of a 5-under 283, two-shots clear of Oklahoma and Florida Gulf Coast and six shots ahead of the Bears. Just five shots separate second and seventh place.

THE RUNDOWN
Keefer blistered the back nine with an opening-nine 32 en route to a 3-under 69 to start the event. The senior opened with birdies at Nos. 10 and 11 before backing those up with two more at Nos. 14 and 15. His first blemish of the day came with a bogey at No. 4, which was quickly erased by birdies at Nos. 5 and 6. Keefer finished with a pair of bogeys at Nos. 8 and 9.

Luke Dossey got his final season off to a strong start with an even-par 72 to claim a tie for 14th after the opening round. Following an early bogey at No. 12, Dossey bounced back with two-straight birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to make the turn with a 1-under 35. He went to 2-under with a birdie at No. 2, but a double bogey at No. 4 put him back at even on the day, where he would finish after a birdie at No. 6 and a bogey at No. 9.

Jonas Appel made his debut in the lineup with a 1-over 73, good enough for 25th place. The sophomore bounced back from an opening bogey with a birdie at No. 11 and added another at No. 17 to make the turn with a 1-under 35. Bogeys at Nos. 4 and 8 dotted an otherwise clean second nine.

Trey Bosco finished the day in a tie for 42nd place on the heels of a 3-over 75. The Austin native made a bogey on his opening hole at No. 10 but got it back with a birdie at No. 15. A bogey at No. 16 was offset by a birdie at No. 18 for an even-par 36 opening nine. He dipped into red figures with a birdie at No. 2, but dropped back over par with a triple bogey at No. 4. Bosco finished with four pars around a bogey at No. 6.

Zach Heffernan carded a 10-over 82 and stands in 71st place after round one. Following an opening par, the junior made a double bogey at No. 12 and a triple bogey at No. 14 surrounded by bogeys at Nos. 11, 13 and 15. Heffernan made the turn at 7-over but finished four shots better on his closing nine with a 3-over 39.

Playing as an individual, freshman Davis Ovard shot a steady 3-over 75 to settle into a tie for  42nd. After bogeys at Nos. 11, 14 and 1, the Frisco, Texas native settled in to finish the round with eight-straight pars.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Johnny Keefer shot his 31st career round in the 60s
  *   Saturday marked the 10th time Keefer has opened an event with a round in the 60s
  *   The senior led the field in par-4 scoring average (3.70)
  *   Keefer tied for the second-most birdies on Saturday
  *   Davis Ovard led the field with 15 pars in the opening round
  *   As a team, BU had the fourth-best par-4 scoring average (4.14)

STAT OF THE DAY
32 — Johnny Keefer blistered the back nine at TPC San Antonio with a 4-under 32 on the senior’s opening nine of the season.


WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will play the second round beginning Sunday morning. Once available, tee times and live scoring can be found at Golfstat.com.<https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=28150> For more information on Baylor Men’s Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.



—BaylorBears.com—


Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-227-2280
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