Liberty University
NCAA Men's Golf National Championship
Chang Paces Liberty During Round 1 of NCAA Championship
5/28/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Ervin Chang, a fifth-year senior on the Flames roster, used his postseason experience to his advantage during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Men's Golf National Championship on Friday.
Chang fired an even-par 70 during the team's first trip around the Grayhawk Golf Club – Raptor Course (par 70, 7,289 yards) and is currently tied for 28th place.
No. 15 seed Liberty had the latest tee times of the day on Friday, along with No. 13 seed NC State and No. 14 seed Tennessee.
The three teams played a majority of their first round during the heat of the day with temperatures reaching 100 degrees on the desert course.
Following the first round of the national championship, Liberty is tied for 26th place with a 15-over par 295.
The Flames will need to finish inside the top 15 teams following play on Sunday to advance to the final round of stroke play on Monday.
Currently, 15th place is shared by No. 6 seed North Carolina and No. 18 seed Florida, who both fired an 8-over par 288 during round one. Liberty trails this coveted position by seven shots entering the second round.
The Flames will be paired again with NC State (T29 +21 301) and Tennessee (T19 +12 292) on Saturday. The three teams will be sent off the No. 1 tee (par 4, 430 Yards), starting at 8 a.m. (PST).
Round Recap – Liberty's Starting Five:
• Ervin Chang – T28 Even par 70 (70)
• No. 90 Jonathan Yaun – T73 3-over par 73 (73)
• Alexandre Fuchs – T105 5-over par 75 (75)
• No. 17 Kieran Vincent – T128 7-over par 77 (77)
• Zach Barbin – T149 9-under par 79 (79)
Field Reflections:
• Only three teams in the 30-team field managed to break par on Friday, and the course played at nearly three strokes over par (72.98 scoring average).
• No. 19 seed Texas Tech, who played in the morning wave, currently leads the field following a 4-under par 276.
• No. 24 seed Sam Houston State is two strokes off the overall pace following a 2-under par 278.
• Pepperdine, the No. 9 seed, is currently in third place after a 1-under par 279.
• No. 2 seed Oklahoma and No. 3 seed Oklahoma State are tied for fourth place following an even par 280, while No. 1 seed Florida State is in sixth place after a 1-over par 281.
• A total of 27 players in the 157-player field posted a score in red figures on Friday.
• Purdue's Cole Bradley, who is competing in this event as an individual, currently leads the field after a 4-under par 66.
• Three players are one shot behind Bradley with a 3-under par 67: Sam Houston State's William Holcomb and Ting-Wei Hseih and Oklahoma State's Bo Jin.
Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:
• Chang finished the day recording five of the 10 birdies Liberty carded as a team during the first round of the national championship.
• Chang got his second career appearance at the national championship off to a great start, snaking in a lengthy downhill birdie putt on No. 10 (par 4, 390 yards), Liberty' first hole of the day.
• Chang also birdied three out of four holes during his back nine to briefly get to 1-under par on the day before closing with a bogey on No. 9 (par 4, 468 yards), the Flames' closing hole on the day.
• Chang's opening round 70 is his best 18-hole total at the NCAA National Championship, bettering his opening round 3-over par 75 at the 2019 NCAA Championship.
• Chang posted his ninth round of par or better this season on Friday and the 63rd of his five-year career (63-of-141/44.7 percent).
• Jonathan Yaun, who is currently ranked No. 90 in the country, posted a 3-over par 73 and is currently tied for 73rd place.
• Yaun closed out his third career round at the national championship with a birdie at No. 9 (par 4, 468 yards), his second birdie of the day.
• Kieran Vincent, who came into the event leading the Flames with a 70.21 season stroke average, finished the day tied for 128th place with a 7-over par 77.
• Vincent, who is ranked No. 17 in the country, closed out his highest 18-hole total since Oct. 6, 2019, without recording a birdie during round one.
Course Information:
• Grayhawk Golf Club (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
• Par 70, 7,289 yards
Following the Flames at NCAA National Championship:
• Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
• Twitter @LibertyGolf
• Instagram @LibertyGolf
• Round 2 Tee Time: Friday at 8:00 a.m./PST (No. 1 tee)
Photos Provided by Tim Cowie
