Knights charge, ‘Noles Chop, Bull Romps at Hootie at Bulls Bay

“You have to watch out for the directional schools at this tournament” said competition director Doug Carnes.  “Tiny Augusta State lost in a playoff in the tourney’s first year.  PGA player J.B. Holmes sank a putt to lift Kentucky to victory over the Jaguars and ASU had a strong showing last year as well.  It doesn’t surprise me that Central Florida leads at all.”
 

Baylor University, making their first trip to the Hootie, also had a strong first day showing.  Jeremy Frye led the way with a 3-under 68.  “I only missed two fairways and one green, the par-5 6^th.  I made a double bogey there, but offset that with birdies on the par-5 2d, and the 4^th” (which was a par-4 reduced from a par-5 for the members).  He also bogeyed the 9th, but closed with a birdie on 18, sinking an 18 footer to finish.  “I hit the ball close all day long, but missed a couple short birdie putts inside five feet.  Hopefully those will go for me tomorrow.”
 

The Bears have been road warriors this season.  “We played in Myrtle Beach two weeks ago at Coastal Carolina’s tournament and we finished second in Laredo, Texas at the Border Olympics” Frye noted.  They also placed third at the Louisiana Classic.  Both tournaments were won by powerhouse Lamar University.  The team travels to Purdue next week.  “I’m really enjoying this week.  The Hootie concert last night was awesome and the golf course layout is really interesting” he notes fondly.  “And I love fast greens and these are rolling beautifully.”  Frey’s teammate Jeremy Alcorn followed him with a 1-under 70.
           
The tournament has fast become one of the crown jewels of NCAA golf.  Carnes stated “our triple goals are to make this the best college tourney based on strength of field, the quality of the golf course, and how much of a fun, unique experience we provide.”  His eyes light up as he recalls the team selection process.  “Our goal is to have all fifteen schools that compete be ranked in the NCAA top 25.”
 

This year’s field, a mix of ACC, SEC and top “at large” schools from several other conferences is the strongest in the tournament’s three year history.  Seven schools are ranked this year including Duke, UNC and Coastal Carolina, the top team in the field according to the Coaches’ Poll.  “Three ranked schools that have competed here before, Auburn, Clemson and Alabama chose to compete in Hawaii this fall and could not attend due to NCAA rules that limit the number of school days an athlete can miss” Carnes noted.  “But we visited #1 Oklahoma State, #2 Florida and the University of Georgia in the hope of getting them for the future.”
 

Bulls Bay, a stunning gem of a golf course with its treeless landscape, fickle winds and devilish Mike Strantz design is already turning heads as one of the hottest courses in the country.  “We plan on making some minor adjustments to ensure the course is a stiff challenge” Carnes states proudly.  “We added some new bunkering on number 10, a 635 yard par-5 to stop players from cutting the corner and playing it driver, 6-iron.  We’ll extend that bunkering and add some scrub so players can’t just bomb and gauge.”  Due to an elevated tee and downwind prevail, the hole plays much shorter than the yardage listed on the card.
 

The tournament has made a firm commitment to college golf, already turning down an offer from the LPGA to be considered as a possible venue for the Ladies’ tour.
 

ACC juggernauts UNC and Duke, (pre-tournament favorites along with Coastal Carolina), have work to do to catch up.  They finished at 3-over and 4-over respectively.  “As a team, we played the par-5 13th hole 6-over” noted red-haired assistant coach Don Hill, who shares his name with New York City’s famous rock and roll venue.  “It’s also a locksmith and gun shop, don’t forget that” chips irreverent team jokester Rob Reisin, who carded a 1-over 73.  “We didn’t play 13 well and it hurt us today” Hill said of the brutally long horseshoe par-5 around and over an insidious water hazard.” 
 

            The teams re-tee at 9 a.m. tomorrow for the second round.
 

“WHAT IS THAT, A BIG DOG?”
 

The event had a madcap moment when when tournament mascot “Titleist” the bull got loose from his tether near the sixteenth green and roamed around the golf course for twenty minutes.
 

            “Apparently he got stung by a wasp right on the nose” said spectator Mike Adams.  “He was fine and then all of a sudden he rubbed his nose on the ground and on the tree where he’s tied and rolled around snorting.  He is normally totally mild-mannered and tame, but he just got agitated when he got stung.”  Scoring official Bobby Wilson saw the whole thing unfold.  “One minute Titleist was fine and the next he was haulin’ ass down the fairway dragging his tethering chain behind him.”
 

Chase Duncan, a sophomore finance major from N.C. State met Titleist up close and personal.  “I was lining up a nine inch putt for par on 17 and my playing partner, Mark Silvers from South Carolina said ‘Holy s—!’  I looked up and it’s trotting over the hill, about a hundred yards away from us and closing fast.  So we start walking slowly in the opposite direction, but the bull made eye contact with me.  I just saw the movie ‘Jackass Number 2’ where Johnny Knoxville gets knocked into next week by a bull and here I am with no rodeo clown or gate to jump over.  All I remember next was thinking about those massive horns, so I bolted” he explains in between laughs.  “Thankfully the bull slowed down and turned away into the woods.  Now I still have a nine inch putt and I’m still petrified.  I never shook over a nine inch putt like that in my life” he finishes with a grin.
 

Silvers was equally incredulous over the ridiculousness of the situation.  “My girlfriend is here with me.  While Chase was putting, I saw the bull running loose and pointed it out to her, laughing.  She told me later she thought it was a big dog.”

Silvers then putted out and turned to walk off the green.  “When I took my ball out of the hole, I looked up and suddenly he’s coming right at us and here I am in a red shirt!  I’m a prime target.  We ran.  It kept getting closer and closer, it’s a freakin’ bull and it’s huge!” he said, grabbing his sides laughing as he later explained the situation in the clubhouse.  “At least I made my birdie.”  The sophomore from Savannah, Georgia studying finance shot 2-over 73 with an 8 on the par-5 13th.  “I hit a tree and it went in the hazard and I couldn’t get it out.  But I finished with two birdies, one after having my life flash before my eyes.  Golf didn’t seem quite so serious after that.” 
 

“It was hysterical” giggled spectator Sarah Gondrin.  “I never saw golfers move so fast in my life.  They scrambled like rabbits!” she exclaimed, breathless with laughter.  “Yeah, golfers became track stars real quick” joked Bobby Wilson.
 

The bull then led everyone on a merry chase, tromping all over the front nine before getting cornered by tournament staff on the eighth fairway.  “That happens occasionally,” said one Golfstats scorer turned ersatz animal handler.  “But Titleist is completely docile.  He loves people and being ridden, so it’s fine.  Besides, the winner has to ride him in order to collect his trophy, so we’ll see more of Titleist this week.”  Titleist got one of the biggest ovations of the day from the gallery as he was led back to his post near the sixteenth green.  The bull had no comment.

Here are pix:

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