Sear Leading WVU at Tavistock

Sunday, October 22

Windermere, Fla.

8:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

Tavistock Collegiate Invitational

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

October 22, 2017 04:45 PM | Golf

First Round Team Results First Round Individual Results Live Scoring

By: Ashley Bailey

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Max Sear sits just outside the top 10 to lead the West Virginia University golf team through one round of play at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational on Sunday at Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere, Florida.

Co-hosting the event with Central Florida, WVU sits in 15th place in a field consisting of 11 top-100 teams, seven of which rank in the top 25. The Mountaineers shot eight over par with a 296, and sit ahead of No. 26 Arizona State and No. 45 UCF. No. 28 Illinois leads the field at nine-under par with a 279, while No. 10 Florida is second at six under with a 282.

"We need to tighten up just a few things with our game plan off a few tees, but once our guys got used to the speed of the greens, I thought we played solid. Especially after we made the turn onto our second nine," WVU coach Sean Covich said. "The next two rounds will show how competitive this team could be. The key for us is learning how to play this course and what adjustments we need to make due to a change of wind direction tomorrow. The only way to test yourself is to play against the best competition on the best golf course, and we're certainly doing that this week."

Sear birdied a pair on the front nine and added four more on the back nine to finish one-under par with a 71. He ended the day tied for 11th place ahead of 15 nationally ranked players. A total of 17 golfers in the field rank in Golfstat's top 100.

Etienne Papineau also finished the first day of play inside the top 25. He carded four birdies to finish even par with a 72, sitting in a tie for 22nd place. Playing as an individual, Logan Perkins used three birdies to fire a 72 and tie for 22nd as well.

Also competing individually, Avery Schneider birdied a pair on the back nine to finish two over. His scorecard showed 74 as he tied for 47th place. Philipp Matlari shot four-over par with a 76 and is tied for 63rd.

Tristan Nicholls carded a pair of birdies on the front nine, but struggled on the back nine. He shot five-over par with a 77 and is in 68th place. Matthew Sharpstene is six over par with a 78 and in 79th place, while Drew Dewald and Mark Goetz both shot 79 for seven over par and sit tied for 84th place.

WVU will be paired with the No. 26 Sun Devils and No. 45 UCF for the second round. The Mountaineers will tee off of No. 10 between 9:45 a.m. and 10:25 a.m. on Monday morning.