Virginia & Arizona Tied at the Top of NCAA; Warian Is T13

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Hiroshi Tai was just sort of treading water for the first seven holes during the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Championships on Friday. He had birdied his first hole at the Omni La Costa North Course, the 596-yard, par-5 10th, but he bogeyed the 245-yard, par-3 12th and parred the next four holes after that.

Then he began his assault on par. The Georgia Tech sophomore from Singapore birdied the 491-yard, par-4 17th (to golfers of a certain age, a 3 on 491-yard hole is an eagle, not a birdie) and the 605-yard, par-5 18th. Making the turn, he picked up his third and fourth birdies in a row at he par-4 first hole and the 622-yard, par-5 second. He made it five out of six with a birdie at the fourth hole, but gave one back with a bogey at the par-4 fifth (427 yards). Three pars followed, and Tai capped off his round by hitting his second shot to 3 feet at the 426-yard, par-4 ninth hole, and converting the birdie putt.

That gave him a 5-under-par 67 and a one-stroke lead over Ohio State's Adam Wallin in the individual standings. Karl Vilips of Stanford and John DuBois of Florida are two behind Tai, tied for third at 69.

There are three tied for fifth at 70, five tied for eighth at 71, and a a gang of 12 tied for 13th at 72. One of them is Ben Warian, the Minnesota senior from Stillwater who is playing as an individual only. He started on the first hole (415 yards, par 4) and bogeyed it, but promptly made up for that with a birdie a the long, par-5 second. Bogeys at the 521-yard, par-4 seventh and the ninth had him 2 over as he made the turn, but he played the back nine in 2 under, thanks to birdies at the 13th and 18th holes.

As for the team competition, the leaderboard is tightly packed. Really tightly packed. There's a tie at the top. Both Virginia and Arizona turned in four-player totals of 290 (2 over), but there is no separation between them and their pursuers. In fact, there are 13 teams within eight strokes of them.

The closest pursuer is North Carolina, one behind in third place at 291. Then Georgia Tech at 292, in fourth, and two more teams, Auburn and Big Ten powerhouse Illinois, at 293.

At the end 54 holes, the field will be cut to the top 15 teams and the top nine players not on adancing teams. The individual champion will be crowned on Monday at the conclusion of 72 holes, and the top eight teams will begin match play on Tuesday.

NCAA Men's Division I Championships

At Omni La Costa North Course

Par 72, 7,538 yards

First-round results (at the end of 54 holes, the top 15 teams will advance, and so will the top nine individuals not on advancing teams

T1. Virginia 290

T1. Arizona 290

3. North Carolina 291

4. Georgia Tech 292

T5. Illinois 293

T5. Auburn 293

7. Ohio State 294

8. Florida 295

T9. Notre Dame 296

T9. Texas 296

T9. East Tenn. St. 296

T12. Vanderbilt 297

T12. Stanford 297

T12. Baylor 297

T15. Wake Forest 298

T15. Texas A&M 298

T17. New Mexico 299

T17. Florida State 299

Individuals

1. Hiroshi Tai, Georgia Tech 67 (-5)

2. Adam Wallin, Ohio State 68

T3. Karl Vilips, Stanford 69

T3. John DuBois, Florida 69

T5. Johnny Keefer, Baylor 70

T5. Christo Lamprecht, G. Tech 70

T5. Tiger Christensen, Arizona 70

T8. Luke Clanton, Florida State 71

T8. Mats Ege, E. Tennessee State 71

T8. Jackson Koivun, Auburn 71

T8. David Ford, North Carolina 71

T8. George Dujangmanee, Virginia 71

T13. Ben Warian, Minnesota 72

T120. Nate Stevens, Notre Dame 78

T151. Carson Herron, N. Mexico 86