FRESNO, Calif. -- Doug Harper shot a 3-under-par 69 Wednesday to give host Fresno State a one-stroke lead over UCLA in the opening round of the NCAA Division I golf championship.
But Greg Garde of Florida State and Jay Delsing of UCLA had matching 68s to share the individual lead in the four-day tournament involving 32 teams and 183 players.
Harper's 69 placed him third in the individual race but Fresno State was No. 1 in the team race with a cumulative score of 289. UCLA was at 290 with North Carolina third at 291, Ohio State fourth at 292 and Houston fifth at 293. Thus, only four shots separated the first five teams.
John Inman of North Carolina, Oliver Rheinfurth of UCLA, Jeff Wilson of Pacific and Ken Mattiace of South Florida were tied for fourth in the individual race, each shoooting a 70 over the par-72 San Joaquin Country Club course.
The cut will be made after the third round Friday to the low 15 teams and 25 individuals not on teams who survived. The final is Saturday.
