Monday, November 19, 2007

EL PASO, Texas (Nov. 19, 2007) - Senior Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) fired a first round even-par 71 and followed it up with a 4-under 67, placing him in a tie for seventh following the first day at the 33rd Western Refining College All-American Golf Classic Monday.

"Gareth played well and got off to a good start today," said head ETSU men's golf coach Fred Warren. "It was important for him to get off to a great start against such a difficult field."

Shaw, who shot a season best round of 67 in the second round, sits five shots off the lead after Monday's play at the Par -71 6,837-yard course at the El Paso Country Club. San Diego State's Aaron Goldberg currently sits atop the leader board at 9-under 133. Goldberg holds a one-shot lead over Oklahoma State's Trent Leon and Webb Simpson from Wake Forest. Simpson tied the course and tournament record with his 9-under 62 in the first round.

"He (Gareth) ended the day well to move into contention at such a strong tournament," added Warren. "Hopefully he can make a charge in the final round tomorrow and finish with good results."

The 33-year-old tournament, which began Monday at El Paso (Texas) Country Club, is limited to the previous year's NCAA Division I All-Americans, and Division II and III champions. It's known as much for its hospitality as its who's-who list of past champions, including Tiger Woods, David Duval and Davis Love III.

The nation's number one golfer, Chesson Hadley (Georgia Tech), is tied for fourth after finishing the day at 6-under 136.

Shaw was not the only Buccaneer golfer making news, as freshman phenom Rhys Enoch (Cornwall, England) was featured in a Golfweek write up last Monday by Ron Balicki. Please click on the link above to read a full feature release on freshman.

Shaw will wrap up the tournament Tuesday with third and final round action at the Western Refining College All-American Golf Classic. Fans can stay up-to-the-minute with live scoring provided by Golfstat.com, while a full recap of the day's play will be available at the conclusion of action at ETSUBucs.com.