Azalea Invitational: Buhl and Christovich Day One Leaders

3/31/2016 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Patrick Christovich

Duo tied at top after posting 5-under-par 66 in the first round of Azalea Invitational

CHARLESTON, SC (March 31, 2016)--William Buhl and Patrick Christovich are tied for first place following day one of the Azalea Invitational at the Country Club of Charleston. Both shot 5-under-par 66 and lead by one over a trio of players. Christovich (New Orleans, LA) was part of the morning wave, teeing off at 9:40 a.m and posted his 66 early in the day. After pars on the first three holes Christovich got his round jump started with back-to-back birdies on four and five. After a bogey on the sixth he quickly birdied seven and then closed his front nine 32 with an eagle on the par-five ninth. Christovich played steady on the backside with one birdie and the rest pars. The New Orleans resident has had success in past years at the Azalea placing fifth last year and T3 in 2014. Buhl teed off a little under an hour after Christovich at 10:20 a.m. and didn't leave the 5-under-par score alone on the leaderboard for long. In his opening round the Arkansas commit was bogey free. Buhl recorded five birdies on his day including back-to-back birds on eight and nine to close his front nine with a 3-under-par 33. Andy Zhang the youngest player to ever compete in a U.S. Open at 14 in 2012, Jake Kevorkian and Trent Phillips all sit a stoke off the pace at 4-under-par after rounds of 67. Phillips had the most interesting round of the three tied for second as he finished his round with three consecutive birdies after bogeying two holes early on the back nine. In all fourteen golfers finished the first round under-par. Defending champion Todd White opened with an even-par 71. He began his day with bogeys on two and three but was able to crawl his way back to even with two birdies. The top junior in the field, Phillip Barbaree the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, struggled in his first round shooting a 4-over-par 75. Full results, including scorecards, can be found at the link below.

Results: Azalea Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Andy Zhang	, China	1000	67-67-67-68=269
2	Trent Phillips	Inman, SC	700	67-70-68-70=275
T3	Andrew McCain	Minneapolis, MN	500	70-71-68-68=277
T3	Christopher Hickman	Centreville, MD	500	71-66-71-69=277
5	Ryan Celano	Naples, FL	500	68-67-71-72=278

View full results for Azalea Invitational

About the Azalea Invitational

72-hole stroke play championship with a 54-hole cut on a 1925 Seth Raynor design. Good mix of college players, juniors and mid amateurs. 7 spots available in a qualifier. Impressive list of past champions at this traditional event. Reigning USGA cham...

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