Three tied at the top after the first round of the Patriot All-America Invitational
David Nyfjall (Northwestern Athletics photo)
Arizona resident
Ben Lorenz,
David Nyfjäll and Pearse Lucas share the first-round lead of the Patriot All-America Invitational after each player carded opening rounds of 66 (-5) at the Wigwam Golf Club outside of Phoenix, Ariz.
Just one off the lead at 4-under are
Caden Fioroni, who plays collegiately at UNLV,
Walker Isley of UNC Wilmington and
Connor Jones of Colorado State.
A total of 12 players shot 3-under or better in the opening round and 19 players are within three shots of the lead heading into Friday's second round.
Defending champion
Connor Howe is four back after opening with a 1-under 70 on Thursday.
Starting on the 10th hole of Wigman's Gold Course, Lorenz, who hails from nearby Peoria, picked up five birdies on his first nine holes, including four in a row beginning on his fourth hole of the day, and turned in 32. Back-to-back bogeys on his ninth and 10th holes dropped him to 3-under for the day but the Oklahoma junior picked up two birdies on his inward nine to sign for a 66.
Nyfjäll, who plays collegiately at Northwestern, began his round with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes and added an eagle 3 on the par-5 14th, his fifth hole of the day, to quickly move to 4-under on the day. He moved to 6-under after collecting his fifth birdie of the day on his 14th hole but gave a stroke back on the 16th and settled for a 67.
Lucas, who attends the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., had seven birdies and just two bogeys on his card while Fiorini and Jones shot bogey-free rounds of 67.
ABOUT THE Patriot All-America
The Wigwam and the Golf Coaches Association
of America (GCAA), in partnership with the
Folds of Honor Foundation present the Patriot All-
America Invitational. It's one of the most unique
events
in all of golf.
84 top collegiate players named to the PING All-
America team in NCAA Division I,II and III, NAIA
and
NJCAA, AJGA, one player from each military
academy
and select international players compete in a 54-
hole
championship.
Each player honors our military by carrying a bag
with
the name, rank and service of a fallen or severely
wounded soldier embroidered on the pocket.
Following
the championship, the bags go to the players’ school
for auction, with proceeds benefiting the Folds of
Honor.
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