Andrew Weathers at the UTC practice facility in this file photo.ROCKY FACE, Ga. - Andrew Weathers remembers walking The Farm Golf Club and watching the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga play in the Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament during his high school years.
He watched last year, too.
But this year he's playing for the Mocs. Weathers, a redshirt freshman, shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round Friday and is tied for the lead with Benjamin Taylor of LSU.
"I thought I'd be more nervous than I was," said Weathers, who prepped at McCallie. "I didn't feel any nerves. I tried to stay relaxed."
It worked. Weathers made eight birdies and three bogeys in his college debut. Playing the back nine first, he opened his UTC playing career with consecutive birdies and made the turn at 4 under. Then he shot 1 under on the front nine and finished before a thunderston delayed play.
"I had it down to 6 under," Weathers noted. "I felt relaxed. I didn't want to try too hard, just play golf.
"I'm satisfied, but it's not over yet. It's a good start."
Weathers helped the Mocs get off to a solid start to their season. They shot 3-over 291 as a team and are tied for seventh with South Carolina. Kennesaw State leads at 7 under, one better than LSU. Alabama, North Carolina and Wake Forest are tied for third at 2 under.
"As a team, we played pretty good," UTC coach Mark Guhne said. "We've got to get Andrew a little help tomorrow."
Sophomore Ewan Scott shot even-par 72, and senior Liam Johnston and sophomore Wes Gosselin had 76s. Zac Stolz had the drop score.
"Andrew looked amazingly comfortable," Guhne said. "To be playing in your first college event, here, with the number of ranked teams here, he seemed to enjoy it."
Assistant coach David McKenna walked every hole with Weathers. Guhne joked that he could be doing it for the next four years.
"It's hard for a freshman to play good right off the bat," Guhne said. "It's a rare deal for a freshman to walk out here and start playing good. This field is toughter than an NCAA regional."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.