Ortiz, Razorbacks In The Lead At Pebble Beach

CARMEL, Calif. – Fueled by a back nine 32 that included birdies on three of his last four holes, Arkansas men’s golf sophomore Alvaro Ortiz’s three-under 69 was the low round of the day at the Carmel Cup held at Pebble Beach and in the process helped the Razorbacks grab a share of the first round lead.

Ortiz’s 69 was one of three under-par rounds turned in by the Razorbacks on the day, as their five-man score of three-under 357 put them in a tie for the lead with fellow SEC member Vanderbilt amongst the loaded eight-team field. All eight teams were ranked or received votes in the preseason Bushnell Golfweek Coaches poll.

Ortiz made the turn at one-over par, but was able to get back to even-par with a birdie on the par 4 10th hole. Four straight pars gave way to three birdies over the final four holes, as Ortiz closed his first round with 13 straight-bogey free holes. Ortiz’s three-under performance on the course’s par 4 holes was only bested by senior Kolton Crawford (-4). Ortiz holds a one-shot lead heading into Saturday.

Ending his junior year as the 41st-ranked player by Golfstat, senior Taylor Moore carded an opening round one-under 71 and was joined by classmate Nicolas Echavarria to make up the three Razorbacks at under-par. Moore and Echavarria combined for seven birdies on the front nine and both made the turn at three-under. The under-par round was Moore’s 14th in his last 30 rounds played.

The first collegiate tournament of the fall, the Carmel Cup format features six players per team with the top five counting scores contributing to each round’s total. The Razorbacks will return to the course at 10:10 a.m. CT on Saturday with live stats available at www.Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.

McMakin Post-Round Sound
“Today was a solid start to our season. The guys played with a lot confidence and that combined with their familiarity of the course was a good combination against the opening round of the year jitters. We look forward to getting back out here tomorrow.”

#RazorFact
A total of 11 players shot under-par in the first round with Arkansas and Vanderbilt supplying three each. The team score of 357 is two strokes better than Arkansas’ best round in the event in 2014.

@RazorbackMGolf Lineup
1. Alvaro Ortiz – 69 (-3)
T5. Taylor Moore – 71 (-1)
T5. Nicolas Echavarria – 71 (-1)
T12. Kolton Crawford – 72 (E)
T27. Zach Coats – 74
T38. Noah Edmondson – 77

Note: All six players are part of the lineup with the top five scores each round contributing to the team score.

Carmel Cup Standings (Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll)
T1. Arkansas (RV) – 357 (-3)
T1. Vanderbilt (10) – 357 (-3)
T3. Georgia (12) – 361
T3. Oklahoma State – 361
5. Oklahoma (18) – 364
6. Ohio State (RV) – 372
7. Texas Tech (RV) – 377
8. TCU (RV) – 377