MESA, Ariz. – [Championship Schedule] Play started at the 71st Annual NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship with sun-soaked fairways backed up to mountains of red rock presented a gorgeous landscape for the opening round of the tournament.  The field consisted of 29 teams and 155 individuals taking on the challenging Las Sendas Golf Club spread out over two waves teeing off of holes one and ten in the morning and afternoon.  

Play was suspended during the afternoon wave due to rain and continuous lightning strikes in the area.  The remainder of Round 1 will be postponed to tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. PST.  Round 2 will be played immediately following at 6:30 a.m. PST. The day will conclude with a cut down to 17 teams and 40 individuals, including ties. 

Of the teams that finished their round today, the defending champions Keiser (Fla.) held the top spot on the leaderboard by five strokes.  The Seahawks recorded nineteen birdies and have two players among the top five individual scores.  The only other team to finish the day under par was Wayland Baptist (Texas) who also recorded nineteen birdies as a team.  Three individuals remain tied at the top of the leaderboard with scores of 68 to get to four under par for the tournament.  

Top Ten Team Scores after Day One (Among Finishers)

1 - Keiser - 282 (-6)

2 - Wayland Baptist - 287 (-1)

3 - Victoria (BC) - 288 (E)

4 - Southeastern - 289 (+1)

T5 - OUAZ - 292 (+4)

T5 - British Columbia - 292 (+4)

T7 - Lindsey Wilson - 293 (+5)

T7 - Coastal Georgia - 293 (+5)

T7 - South Carolina Beaufort - 293 (+5)

10 - Dalton State - 294 (+6)

After the second round, the cut will be made and the Round 3 Pairings will be established. The cut will be the Top 17 teams and Top 40 individuals including ties for both. If Individuals are in the Top 40 and on a team in the Top 17, they will be removed from the individual competition. The removed individuals will not be backfilled.