Kristjansson ties program-record with a 63 in the opening record of Seminole Intercollegiate; ETSU in first place

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 13, 2015) – Following Thursday’s practice round, Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) had a good feeling entering the opening round of the Seminole Intercollegiate.

Kristjansson’s intuition was spot on.

The Buccaneer junior fired a 9-under 63 and holds a four-shot lead over the 90-man field, while No. 41 ETSU also sits atop the leaderboard at 12-under-par 276, following Friday's opening round at the Southwood Golf Course. 

Kristjansson, who totaled an eagle, eight birdies and one bogey in round one, not only posted his lowest collegiate score of his career, but tied the lowest round in program history. Rhys Davies also fired a 63 on May 9, 2005 at the UK Derby Invitational. Kristjansson carded four birdies on the front nine and finished the round with three straight birdies en route to his record-setting day. Sandwiched in between those birdies was his eagle, bogey and another birdie.

“I had a solid round and was hitting my shots close,” said Kristjansson, who holed out from 100 yards on the par-4, 393-yard No. 5. “I played well in yesterday’s practice session and was ready to have a good day today. This course suits my game. It’s wide off the tees and the greens are very soft. It was vital to play well today since we didn’t have our best tournament earlier in the week in Myrtle Beach and hopefully we can keep this up.”

Coach Warren was pleased with ETSU’s play in the opening round.

“The guys played well today, especially the exceptional round by Gudmundur,” said head coach Fred Warren, whose team is looking for their second win of the season. “He carried us today and it’s nice to get off to a strong start.”

Joining Kristjansson was Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Slaskie, Poland), Tom Heggarty (Cheshire, England) and Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) as the Buccaneer trio all finished at 1-under-par 71 and are tied for 20th.  

As a team, the Blue and Gold hold a five-shot lead over 43rd-ranked Louisville and a six-stroke advantage over reigning tournament champion and SoCon partner Mercer.

Prior to today’s 63, Kristjansson’s previous low was a 66, which was set at last season’s Wolfpack Intercollegiate – a tournament the Bucs went on to win. ETSU’s team score of 276 also matches its lowest round since registering the same total in the opening round of that tournament.

The Bucs tee off Saturday at 10:10 a.m., from the first tee box. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.

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