Sunday, February 27, 2005

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (Feb. 27, 2005) - Freshman Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) fired the best round of his young college career with a 3-under-par 69 to lead all East Tennessee State golfers in the first round of the Puerto Rico Classic played Sunday at the Westin Rio Mar Golf Club. McNamara's efforts powered the Bucs to an 11^th-place finish in an extremely strong 17-team field after day one.

Heading into Monday's second round, the University of Georgia leads the event after posting a team score of 10-under-par 78. The Buccaneers are 15 strokes back of the lead after finishing the first round at 5-over 293. McNamara is currently four strokes back of Florida's James Vargas, who sits atop the individual leaderboard after posting a first-round score of 7-under-par 65.

Along with McNamara, the rest of the Bucs' scores included a 1-over-par 73 from senior Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales), which tied him for 38^th, and a 3-over 75 from sophomore Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales), which tied him for 51^st. Freshman Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) and senior Jeremy Hobson (Thonotosassa, Fla.) finished the day tied for 66^th and 83^rd, respectively.

The Puerto Rico Classic will continue with second round play on Monday, followed by third round play on Tuesday. For complete results, see below or visit ETSUBucs.com.