Men’s Golf: No. 16 Virginia in third place after opening round at Vegas Regional

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 16 Virginia men’s golf team shot 19-under 269 Monday to finish the first day of competition at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional in third place. The third-seeded Cavaliers’ team score was a program best for a NCAA regional site. That wasn’t the only UVA record to tumble during the day.

First-year players Ben James and Bryan Lee both shot 7-under 65 to eclipse the UVA single-round NCAA Regional scoring mark set by Ashton Poole in 2019 at Stanford when he posted a score of 6-under 64.

Lee’s score was his best as a collegiate. For James, the ACC Freshman of the Year, it marked the 10th straight round he has shot par or better.

James and Lee were tied for fifth place on the leaderboard after the first day of competition. Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays leads the field at 10-under 62.

Top-seeded Arizona State tops the 14-team field after Monday at 26-under 262. The fourth-ranked Sun Devils own a six-shot lead over eighth-ranked Stanford (268). The top-five teams from the 54-hole regional site advance to the NCAA Championships. East Tennessee State is in fourth place at 272 while UNCG, Davidson and Oklahoma State are tied for fifth at 276.

Lee got off to the best start of the Cavaliers, making birdie on five of his first six holes at the Bear’s Best Las Vegas course. He headed to the back nine at 6-under and posted birdies on No. 10 and 12 to improve to 8-under before closing with a birdie and two bogeys over his final six holes. His total of 10 birdies tied for the most in the first round.

James also got off to a hot start, making eagle on his second hole and three birdies over his next six holes. A bogey on No. 9 brought him back to 4-under. His back nine was bogey free with birdies on No. 10, 12 and 17.

Sophomore Devel Patel also had a solid round shooting 5-under 67 to finish the day in 14th place. His round featured four consecutive birdies after he made the turn. George Duangmanee rounded out UVA’s scoring Monday with an even par round to place 52nd while Pietro Bovari shot 2-over 74 and is in 62nd place.

Virginia, Arizona State and Stanford will again be paired in the second round. They’ll start from the first tee at 7:30 a.m. PT.

Live scoring of the event is online at Golfstat.com.

The Killer B’s of Brian Lee and Ben James were 🔥🔥🔥 during the first round of the NCAA Las Vegas 🎲 Regional today! pic.twitter.com/jNzlzGMFZz

— Virginia Men’s Golf (@UVAMensGolf) May 15, 2023

NCAA Las Vegas Regional
Bear’s Best Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nev.
Par 72, 7,217 yards
First-Round Results

Team Results
1. Arizona State — 262
2. Stanford — 268
3. Virginia — 269
4. East Tennessee State — 272
5. UNCG — 276
5. Oklahoma State — 276
5. Davidson — 276
8. San Francisco — 277
8. Cincinnati — 277
8. Oregon State — 277
11. Northwestern — 278
12. Long Beach State — 285
13. Kansas City — 289
14. Lehigh — 294 

Individual Leaders
1. Preston Symmerhays, Arizona State — 62
2. Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford — 63
3. Jose Luis Ballester, Arizona State — 64
3. Ethan Ng, Stanford — 64 

Virginia Results
5. Ben James — 65
5. Bryan Lee — 65
14. Deven Patel — 67
52. George Duangmanee — 72
62. Pietro Bovari — 74