Men's Golf Holds 5-Stroke Lead at Mason Rudolph

Sept. 21, 2012

	Team	1	2	3	Total
1.	Oklahoma	280	-	-	280
T2.	Mississippi	285	-	-	285
T2.	College of Charleston	285	-	-	285
T4.	Vanderbilt	286	-	-	286
T5.	Georgia State	289	-	-	289
T5.	Georgia Southern	289	-	-	289

	OU Players	1	2	3	Total
T2.	A. Ancer	68	-	-	68
T10.	M. Schoolcraft	70	-	-	70
T15.	W. Kropp	71	-	-	71
T15.	B. Titsworth	71	-	-	71
T64.	C. Saxon	76	-	-	76

OU Men's Golf Central

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NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's golf team carded a first-round 280 (-4) at the 15-team Mason Rudolph Championship on Friday, good for first place at the par-71, 7,100-yard Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn. OU leads second-place Mississippi by five strokes with 36 holes remaining.

The Sooners got off to a slow start, but drastically improved on the back nine of the club's south course. Following the play-5, count-4 format, OU recorded nine bogeys and three birdies on the front nine, but fired 14 birdies along with two bogeys and a double bogey over the final nine holes.

“We finished the day in a great way, and I am proud of the way the boys kept hanging in there,” OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. “We always talk about finishing off rounds great, and it was nice to see everything come together at the end.”

After a disappointing tournament to open the season, Abraham Ancer shined in the first round of the Mason Rudolph. The Sooner senior responded from two early bogeys with five birdies and no bogeys over final 10 holes. Ancer finished the day in a four-way tie for second place with a 3-under 68 and trails Virginia's Denny McCarthy by one stroke.

Michael Schoolcraft performed well in his third Mason Rudolph event, carding three birdies and a pair of bogeys in the opening round. Schoolcraft's first-round 70 (-1) has the junior in a tie for 10th in the 84-man field.

Will Kropp was on pace for a long day, but rebounded well on the back nine. The senior carded five bogeys, including four through the seventh and 11th holes, and a single birdie on the sixth hole, but finished with birdies on four of the final five holes. After a busy round, Kropp sits in a tie for 15 place at even par.

Beau Titsworth, who was the Sooners' top performer at the season-opening Gopher Invitational two weeks ago, turned in a solid first round for OU on Friday. The true freshman closed his round with birdies on holes No. 14, 16 and 18 to join Kropp in 15th place with a first-round 70 (E).

Sophomore Charlie Saxon struggled in the first round, carding six bogeys and a single birdie on the day. He will look to climb from a share of 64th place with two rounds remaining.

Michael Gellerman, competing as an individual, began his round on the back nine. Five holes into the event, the sophomore carded an eagle on the 517-yard, par-5 14th hole, one of just four eagles on the day. Gellerman went on to record a pair of birdies and three bogeys to finish the round in a tie for 10th place with a 1-under 70.

Despite a five-stroke lead, Hybl said he knows his team will need to continue to perform if they want to leave Tennessee with a win. Oklahoma finished fourth in the team's previous two Mason Rudolph appearances after finishing the opening rounds in second place in 2011 and first in 2010.

“We need a great round tomorrow to get some separation,” Hybl said.

The Sooners will begin Saturday's second round on the hole No. 1 at 9:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.