Sunday, February 23, 2003
PALMER, Puerto Rico (Feb. 23, 2003) - East Tennessee State freshman Derek McNamara (Galway, Ireland) shot an even-par 72 to tie for eighth-place on the leaderboard and power the Buccaneer men's golf team in the first round of the Puerto Rico Classic Sunday at the par-72, 6,954-yard Westin Rio Mar Country Club in Palmer, Puerto Rico.McNamara, a mid-semester addition playing in only his second collegiate event, helped the Bucs finish in a tie for sixth place with a team score of 12-over-par 300 - which is 12 strokes behind front-running North Carolina State and ahead of nationally-ranked teams such as No. 19 Georgia Tech, No. 12 Duke, No. 15 Georgia and No. 14 Purdue. The Bucs are currently tied with No. 13 Northwestern and Florida.
"The playing conditions were tough today, with the winds gusting as high as 35 miles per hour," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "I am very proud of how we played. We struggled a little, but we held together."
Along with McNamara, a trio of Bucs that included senior James Johnson (Barbados), and sophomores Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales) and Chase Baldwin (Brandon, Fla.), finished tied for 35th with scores of 4-over-par 76. Meanwhile, ETSU sophomore Jeremy Hobson (Thonotosassa, Fla.) is currently tied for 58th with a first-round 79.
While N.C. State leads Minnesota and Oklahoma State by three strokes with a team score of even-par 288, Clemson's D.J. Trahan and N.C. State's Fernando Machareffe shot 3-under-par 69s to take the individual lead heading into Monday's second round.
The Puerto Rico Classic will wrap up with single rounds of play on both Monday and Tuesday.
Puerto Rico Classic
Westin Rio Mar Country Club (Palmer, Puerto Rico)
Dates: 02/23 - 02/25 (Today: 02-23-2003)
Par: 72; Yardage: 6,954
| Fin. | School | Scores | |
| 1 | N.C. State | 288=288 | E |
| 2 | Minnesota | 291=291 | +3 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 291=291 | +3 |
| 4 | Clemson | 293=293 | +5 |
| 5 | Texas | 296=602 | +8 |
| 6 | Florida | 300=300 | +12 |
| 6 | Northwestern | 300=300 | +12 |
| 9 | East Tennessee St. | 300=300 | +12 |
| 10 | Duke | 304=304 | +16 |
| 11 | Georgia | 305=305 | +17 |
| 12 | Colorado | 310=310 | +22 |
| 13 | Kent State | 311=311 | +23 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 316=316 | +28 |
| 14 | Purdue | 316=316 | +28 |
| 14 | Illinois | 316=316 | +28 |
| 17 | Virginia | 325=325 | +37 |
| 18 | Michigan | 328=328 | +40 |
Individual Results
| T | 1 | D.J. Trahan, Clemson | 69=69 | -3 |
| T | 1 | Fernando Machareffe, N.C. State | 69=69 | -3 |
| T | 3 | Justin Walter, N.C. State | 70=70 | -2 |
| T | 3 | Simon Nash, Minnesota | 70=70 | -2 |
| T | 3 | Stephen Lewton, N.C. State | 70=70 | -2 |
| T | 6 | Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma State | 70=70 | -2 |
| T | 6 | Rusty Kennedy, Texas | 71=71 | -1 |
| T | 8 | Derek McNamara, ETSU | 72=72 | E |
| T | 8 | Zack Robinson, Oklahoma State | 72=72 | E |
ETSU individual scores
| T | 8 | Derek McNamara | 72=72 | E |
| T | 35 | James Johnson | 76=76 | +4 |
| T | 35 | Cennydd Mills | 76=76 | +4 |
| T | 35 | Chase Baldwin | 76=76 | +4 |
| T | 58 | Jeremy Hobson | 79=79 | +7 |
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