Feb. 17, 2008

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The UAB men's golf team carded a team score of 13-over par 306, and is in 10th place following the opening round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Sunday. The Blazers entered the competition ranked 29th in the nation, and are one of nine teams in the event who are ranked among the top-30 teams in the country.

"We didn't play very well today," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "But this is a three day tournament so we have time to fix our mistakes and improve. There is still a lot of golf left to be played."

Despite entering the second round in 10th of 14 teams, UAB is just seven strokes back of third-place going to the second round. The Blazers - and the rest of the field - find themselves looking up at defending champion No. 4 Alabama, which shot a 2-over-par 290 on Sunday and sits one stroke ahead of fellow SEC competitor No. 12 Tennessee. The Volunteers are followed by No. 28 Pepperdine (294), while No. 2 UCLA (295) and No. 3 Charlotte (295) round out the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's second round of play.

Senior Brad Smith led UAB during day one, shooting a two-over par 74, and is in a tie for 24th overall. Sophomore Adam West and junior Zach Sucher each shot a 75, and are in a tie for 32nd. Senior Kyle Sapp carded a 77, while junior Mike Oimeon rounded out UAB with a 78.

Only seven golfers shot below par during the first 18 holes on the 6,925-yard Sawgrass Country Club course, even though the 70-degree weather conditions were ideal for scoring. The weather is expected to take a turn for the worse on Monday with a line of thunderstorms rolling in from the west over night.

Second round play at the John Hayt Collegiate Championship starts Monday at 8 a.m.