EUGENE, Ore. — A double bogey on Baylor freshman Braden Bailey’s final hole, the par-4 ninth, blunted a strong rally from another double bogey on his eighth hole of the day and left him with a two-over par 72 in the opening round of the NCAA Championships at Eugene Country Club.
Port Neches-Groves ex Bailey, who was three over par after eight holes, had battled back to even par with birdies at 18, 1 and 6, before stumbling at the finish. His 72 left him tied for 53rd in the field of 156 players.
Baylor was 26th in the 30-team field at 13-par 293. Arkansas and TCU were tied for the lead at 282. Among other Texas teams in the tourney, the University of Texas was tied for 12th at 289 and Houston was 29th at 296.
Three players — Nahum Mendoza III of San Diego State, Will Starke of South Carolina and Theo Humphrey of Vanderbilt — were tied for the individual lead at three-under-par 67.
Stroke play continues through Monday, then the low eight teams advance to team match play Tuesday and Wednesday to determine the national champion.