Kleen, Ege pace Blue & Gold in Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (May 26, 2023) – Facing the difficult test of the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club, the ETSU men’s golf team completed opening round play at the NCAA Championship on Friday in Scottsdale. 

ETSU, one of 30 teams in the championship field, was led by Algot Kleen (Fiskebackskil, Sweden) and Mats Ege (Kristiansand, Norway) in round one. Kleen, who had three of the Bucs’ six birdies on the day, finished with a 3-over-par 73. Ege, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, is two shots behind his teammate as he posted a 5-over 75. 

As a team, No. 35 ETSU sits in 29th-place at 23-over-par 303. Being in the last group of the day on the back nine, the Buccaneers were playing in the hottest part of the day with temperatures nearing triple digits.   

The Bucs’ other two countable scores came from freshman Matty Dodd-Berry (Wirral, England) and sophomore Jack Tickle (Bristol, Tenn.). Dodd-Berry, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, posted a 6-over 76 and Tickle finished at 9-over 79. 

Georgia Tech holds the team lead after round one as the 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets posted an even-par 280 on Friday. Georgia Tech has a one-shot lead over No. 8 Pepperdine and No. 28 Arkansas, while a trio of teams are tied for fourth at 2-over 282 – including top-ranked Vanderbilt. 

The Yellow Jackets also have the individual lead as Ross Steelman – the 15th-ranked player via Golfstat – fired a 6-under-par 64 en route to grabbing a two-stroke advantage. Vanderbilt’s Cole Sherwood (#51 via Golfstat), Arkansas’ Mateo Fernandez De Oliveira (#89) and New Mexico’s Matthew Watkins are all at 4-under 66. 

With 156 players in the field, the scoring average on Friday was 73.24 

ETSU is one of 13 teams making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Championship this week. 

The Bucs hit the course on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. ETSU will be grouped again with BYU and San Francisco. 

Fans can follow live scoring via Golfstat.com. In addition, live tweets will be available by following the Bucs on Twitter @ETSU_MGolf. 

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.