Cuartero Pacing Mizzou At NCAA Championships
5/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 24, 2014
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Mizzou senior golfer Emilio Cuartero fired a 3-under-par 67 and is tied for ninth after the first round of play at the 2014 NCAA Golf Championships in Hutchinson, Kan. Cuartero and the Tigers opened competition Friday morning, but completed the first round on Saturday due to inclement weather in Central Kansas yesterday.
The 2014 NCAA Championship is being hosted by Wichita State University at the par-70 Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. The Tigers are playing the course for the first time since the 2011 Big 12 Championship.
The sub-70 round by Cuartero continues a great run by the Lleida, Spain, native. He has been under par in six consecutive rounds dating back to the SEC Championship (April 25-27). The Mizzou co-captain won last week's NCAA Columbia Regional (-11) and is three shots behind first-round leader, Will Starke (-6), of South Carolina.
"Emilio was really steady today," Head Coach Mark Leroux said. "He has been striking the ball well most of the year and is playing with a great deal of confidence. It was a unique situation starting the round on Friday and then coming back early this morning, but I felt like we handled it well as a whole and are in the hunt."
As Leroux mentioned, the Tigers are in the heart of the round-one leaderboard and are just five shots outside the top eight. Missouri topped nine Top 25 programs after the first round, including three Top 10 teams. The SEC enjoyed a strong presence at the top of the first round team leaderboard, with South Carolina (-8) pacing the field. Oklahoma (-7) was second, while Alabama (-6) and Auburn (-6) were third.
Ryan Zech is second among Tiger performers after 18 holes. The Kearney, Mo., native was even-par for his first round, including an Eagle on the par-5 seventh hole. Zech's Eagle was one of three for Mizzou in the opening tour of Prairie Dunes. Cuartero had an Eagle on the par-5 17th and Euan Walker joined Zech with an Eagle on No. 7.
Just a freshman, Walker (+1) shot 71, including that Eagle, which balanced a double-bogey on No. 6. The Troon, Scotland, product entered the NCAA finals ranked No. 4 in the SEC among freshmen with his 72.4 scoring average.
Senior Hunter Kraus (+5) and sophomore Wilson Sundvold (+6) capped the Tiger scoring today.
Mizzou returns to action Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. The Tigers will again be paired with No. 32 Kentucky and No. 37 Kennesaw State. The Top 15 seeds began second round play on Saturday afternoon and will complete their second and third rounds tomorrow.
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Mizzou Round One Notes:
Missouri's Emilio Cuartero shot an opening-round 67 to lead the University of Missouri in the first round. It was the sixth consecutive round Cuartero has been under par dating back to the SEC Championship last month. Over his last six rounds Cuartero is a combined 19-under par.
Cuartero finished among the Top 10 after today's opening round. He is looking for Missouri's best individual finish at the NCAA Championship since Stan Utley finished 11th at the 1984 Championship. Missouri's top all-time finish was a tie for fifth by Rich Poe in 1963.
Missouri is battling for its best-ever team finish at the NCAA Championships. The Tigers finished 20th overall in 2005, their last NCAA Championship berth, and finished 13th overall in 1983, a program best.
Ryan Zech finished even par in his first tour of Prairie Dunes. The talented junior has now been at even-par or below par in six of his last seven rounds.
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