The Richmond Spiders men’s golf team finished at 9-over par (293) and placed 12th out of 14 teams in the opening round of the NCAA Regionals, according to a May 18 announcement. The event took place at Bermuda Run Country Club, where Richmond overcame a challenging start on its first nine holes before improving its position over the final stretch.
This performance marks Richmond’s first appearance at an NCAA Regional in nearly ten years. The team began play on the back nine and collectively posted a score of 15-over par through holes 10-16. However, they recovered during their remaining holes, moving up two spots on the leaderboard by the end of play. The Spiders are currently ahead of Navy by two shots and Little Rock by five shots, while Presbyterian sits just ahead with a score of six-over par (290).
Junior Quin Polin led Richmond on Monday despite his own difficult beginning to the tournament. Polin was five-over par through his first six holes, including a triple-bogey on hole eleven. He then played his final twelve holes in four-under par to finish with a one-over-par (72), tying him for thirty-sixth place individually. “i just tried to play patient, hit fairways, and take it one shot at a time, without thinking about the bad start,” said Polin when asked about how he managed to recover during his round.
Freshman Lucas Rizo-Patron recorded a two-over-par (73) and is tied for fiftieth place after winning last month’s Atlantic 10 Championship as an individual. Sophomore Carson Baez and senior Drew Carlin both finished three-over-par (74), joining seven others tied for fifty-ninth place. Junior Jack LaPiana ended day one in seventy-third position at nine-over-par.
After securing victory in last month’s Atlantic 10 Championship, this is Richmond’s sixth overall team appearance at NCAA Regionals and its first since finishing eleventh among thirteen teams in West Lafayette, Indiana in 2017.
The Spiders will begin Round Two from the tenth tee starting at 8:55 AM Tuesday alongside Presbyterian and NC State.
