HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. --- Tusculum College's Brad Hawkins fired a two-under par 70 and is tied for seventh place following the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Division II South/Southeast Super Regional Men's Golf Championship.
The three-day, 54-hole championship is being held at the par-72, 6,928-yard Mission Inn Resort. There are 20 teams and 108 players competing in this week's tournament.
Hawkins, a senior from Knoxville, Tennessee, was two-over par on his opening nine holes, but answered with birdies on No. 13, 14, 17 and 18 to card a four-under 33 on his inward nine and is five shots off the lead shared by West Florida's Chandler Blanchet and Manuel Torres of Lynn, who each carded 65 (-7).
Hawkins, who is playing as an individual competitor, shot the lowest round by a South Atlantic Conference player competing in this week's event and tied for the second best of a Southeast Region competitor.
Hawkins opened with bogeys on the second hole and another on the eighth. He followed with four consecutive pars before starting his birdie run and shot four-under on his final six holes.
His round of 70 is his 15th sub-par round this season and 23rd of his two years at Tusculum, both program records. The 23 rounds under par breaks the previous mark established by TC All-American Chase Carroll (22 from 2005-09).
The top five teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the NCAA National Championship, May 17-21, at Green Valley Ranch in Denver, Colorado.
Hawkins, the 2016 SAC Player of the Year, will begin his second round on Tuesday at 9 a.m. and will start on the 10th tee.
Hawkins is the sixth Pioneer in program history to earn an individual berth in the NCAA Regional. He played in last year's regional in Dade City, Florida with the Pioneers who earned a team bid to the 2015 NCAA postseason.
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