DATE: MAY 13, 2019
Albin Bergstrom led the way with a 3-under 67 that has the AAC Freshman of the Year in a tie for fifth and three shots off the lead.
USF is making its seventh straight NCAA Regional appearance. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional advance to the NCAA Championship rounds.
STANFORD, Calif., MAY 13, 2019 – American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Albin Bergstrom fired a 3-under 67 to help the Bulls begin the Stanford Regional in a tie for fifth place on Monday.
Making its seventh straight regional appearance with a new-look lineup, USF carded a 2-over 282 team score and finished the opening round eight shots away from leader Stanford. The low five teams from each of the six 54-hole regional tournaments advance to the championship rounds set for May 24-29 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
Bergstrom is tied for fifth place at 3-under and he’s only three shots off the lead after par-or-better performances on 16 holes at Stanford Golf Course (par 70, 6,727 yards). The Ljunghusen, Sweden native was bogey-free through 10 holes and collected two of his five total birdies on his final three holes to get back to 3-under. Bergstrom has carded a score in the 60s 15 different times this season.
Junior Ryoto Furuya and freshman Luke Gifford are both tied for 25th place at 1-over in their first regional run with the Bulls.
After shooting 1-over on the back nine, Furuya (Alpharetta, Ga.) carded his third birdie of the day on the par-3 fourth hole and went even par on the front nine. Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla.) followed up a birdie on No. 15 with an eagle on the par-5, 500-yard 16th hole and was 1-under through 16 holes.
Amadeo Figus also posted a counting score with a 3-over 73. The freshman from Port. St. Lucie, Fla./Rome, Italy collected four total birdies on the day.
USF Scores
| T5 | South Florida | 282 | 282 |
| T5 | Albin Bergstrom (1) | 67 | 67 |
| T25 | Ryoto Furuya (3) | 71 | 71 |
| T25 | Luke Gifford (4) | 71 | 71 |
| T43 | Amadeo Figus (5) | 73 | 73 |
| T52 | Kyle Flexsenhar (2) | 74 | 74 |
Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley’s thoughts on USF’s opening round with four Bulls making their NCAA Regional debuts with the program:
“I think our nerves got the best of us in the beginning. We got settled into the round, got going and then coming down the stretch trying to finish it off, I think our nerves kind of got the best of us, too. There were some really good things and there were some things we really need to improve upon. In regional play, you just can’t afford to make costly mistakes because every shot is extremely important.”
Bradley on freshman Albin Bergstrom’s round of 3-under 67:
“He didn’t hit it particularly well, but when he did he made birdie and he scrambled a decent amount today. It just shows you the quality player that he is and the mental toughness he has. He just does a lot of things really well and he doesn’t have much of a weakness. He played fantastic for us.”
Bradley on Tuesday’s second round:
“We’re playing No. 10 and we tee off at the same tee time with Ole Miss and North Carolina again. We’ll have similar conditions and the course is routed the same way. Hopefully we can get off to a little better start and hopefully we can finish a little better.”
Notables
- Four different Bulls – Bergstrom, Figus, Furuya and Gifford – teed off in an NCAA Regional for the first time with USF. Only junior Kyle Flexsenhar has returned to the lineup this season from USF’s 2017-18 squad that competed in the Kissimmee, Fla., Regional.
- USF is tied for the best par-5 scoring average in the field at 4.33 (-10). The Bulls rank second in total birdies (18).
- Albin Bergstrom carded a score in the 60s for the 15th time this season.
Up Next
USF will begin its second round on the 10th hole starting Tuesday at noon (EST).
About USF Men’s Golf
USF men’s golf captured four consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship titles in wire-to-wire fashion prior to 2019 and has earned seven straight trips to NCAA Regionals. The program is led by Steve Bradley, who has been named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
