SCOTS STUDENTS TRAIL IN NCAA

DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP

IN VIRGINIA

Fraserburgh’s Jordan Findlay (East Tennessee State University) had a five-over-par 75 and Lewis Kirton (Louisville University) an 82 in the first round of the NCAA Division 1 men’s championship, the tournament that rings down the curtain on the American college golf season for 2006-2007, at the Golden Horseshoe course, Williamsburg in Virginia.
Former British boys champion Findlay, 19, ran up a quadruple bogey 8 at the 13th and got his only birdie at the 17th to be sharing 126th position.
Kirton, 18, coming up to the end of his freshman year, had a nightmare inward half of 10-over-par 45, which included a quadruple bogey 7 at the short 12th, a double bogey 7 at the long 15th and a double bogey 67 at the 17th. He did birdie the sixth and 14th but was last of 156 in the individual standings at the end of the first day.
Rhys Davies, pictured above, the Edinburgh-born Walker Cup player who was brought up in South Wales and is a team-mate of Findlay’s. was in joint 15th position with a 69 in which he bogeyed the second but birdied the sixth and 11th over the par-70-, 6,803yd course.
Davies, winner of 10 events in his four years on the American college circuit, is playing in his final event.
Rob Grube (Stanford) was the surprise leader with a six-under-par 64 in which he reached the turn in five-under-par 30.

LEADING SCORES
Par 70.
64 R Grube (Stanford).
66 T McKenna (Florida).
67 D Johnson (Coastal Carolina), Bronson LaCassie (Minnesota), Matthew Savage (Florida State), Cameron Tringale (Georgia Tech).
Other scores by British-Irish students:
69 R Davies (East Tennessee State), G Shaw (East Tennessee State) (jt 15th).
70 S Power (East Tennessee State) (jt 29th).
72 C McNamara (East Tennessee State) (jt 66th).
75 T Sherreard (Georgia State), J Findlay (East Tennessee State) (jt 126th).
82 L Kirton (Louisville) (156th).

LEADING TEAMS
275 Stanford.
277 Coastal Carolina.
278 Florida, Minnesota, Texas.
279 Charlotte.
280 East Tennessee State.
282 Georgia.