Carpet Capital Collegiate
The Farm Golf ClubFirst-round scores FridayPar 72, 7,012 yards286—Georgia Tech (Jacob Joiner 66, Chris Petefish 71, Vince Whaley 74, James Clark 75). 289—Alabama (Davis Riley 69, Tom Lovelady 69, Jonathan Hardee 75, Dru Love 76); South Carolina (Scott Stevens 71< Matthew NeSmith 72, Keenan Huskey 72, Sean Kelly 74). 291—Sam Burns 69, Zach Wright 72, Eric Ricard 72, Luis Gagne 78). 293—Auburn (Michael Johnson 71, Matt Gilchrest 73, Jacob Solomon 73, Graysen Huff 76). 296—Clemson (Stephen Behr 70, Austin Langdale 73, Carson Young 76, Miller Capps 77); Ole Miss (Forrest Gamble 70, Ben Wolcott 73, Noah West 76, Beau Briggs 77). 297—South Florida (Aksel Olsen 71, Chase Koepka 74, Oskar Bergqvist 75, Chaudio Correa 77). 299—Kennesaw State (Teremoana Beaucousin 74, Fredrik Nilehn 75, Zachary Zediker 75, Pablo Rodriguez-Tabernero 75); North Carolina (Joshua Martin 73, Carter Jenkins 74, Ben Griffin 74, Henry Do 78). 303—Tennessee (Juan Carlos Serrano 72, Chad Merzbacher 75, Lorenzo Scalise 78, Jack Smith 78). 304—Florida (Sam Horsfield 74, Alejandro Tosti 75, Jorge Garcia 76, Blake Dyer 79). 305—UTC (Wes Gosselin 71, Brooks Thomas 76, Lake Johnson 78, Kory Webb 80). 315—Dalton State (Sean Elliott 74, Adam Morris 76, Dalton Johnson 81, Levi Nix 84).
ROCKY FACE, Ga. – Ben Rickett removed his Dalton State cap and shook hands with University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golf coach Mark Guhne.
They’ve known each other for years.
Rickett played for Guhne at UTC.
They shook hands as coaches of competing teams for the first time Friday at the conclusion of the first round of the Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament at The Farm Golf Club.
“Ben is not just a former player, he’s a really good friend,” Guhne said. “It’s great to see him and Dalton State have the success they’re having.”
The Roadrunners and Mocs are two of the 15 teams participating in the prestigious Carpet Capital Collegiate. More than half the field is ranked inside the NCAA top 30.
Georgia Tech leads after shooting a 2-under-par 286, including a 6-under 66 from individual leader Jacob Joiner. Alabama golfers Tom Lovelady and Davis Riley are tied for second with Sam Burns of LSU.
Guhne’s Mocs are in 13th place after a 17-over 305, and Rickett’s Roadrunners – the first NAIA team to play in this event – are in 15th place.
“It’s nice being back out here,” said Rickett, who played in the Carpet Capital the first three years UTC participated. “It’s a feeling that I never thought I’d have two and a half years into starting the program. These are lessons that I know my guys will take with them for the remainder of the season.
“If you can feel comfortable playing in this tournament, we shouldn’t have any problems the rest of the season.”
The Carpet Capital boasts one of the strongest tournament fields in the country outside of NCAA Division I region tournaments, including the defending national championship squad in LSU.
“The level of competition here is a lot more difficult than we see week to week,” said Sean Elliott, the 2014 NAIA national medalist who led the Roadrunners with a 74. “There’s not just a couple good players here; everyone is a good player.”
Senior Wes Gosselin led UTC with a 71, which has him tied for seventh individually. His round started with three straight birdies. He gave back two of those strokes with a double-bogey on No. 18.
“I tried to stay in the present and keep going,” Gosselin said. “This is a very hard golf course. Of all the times I’ve played out here, it’s never been set up this hard.”
The Mocs had their fair share of struggles. Every UTC player had at least one double-bogey Friday.
“This is Kory’s (Webb) first Carpet Capital, this is Lake’s (Johnson) first college round, and this is the hardest venue we’ll see until NCAAs,” Gosselin said. “We’re going to come back and have better rounds.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP