UNC freshman Register takes early lead at NCAA golf Chapel Hill Regional

North Carolina freshman William Register shot a 6-under-par 66 to lead all individuals after the first round of the NCAA men’s golf Chapel Hill Regional Thursday at UNC’s Finley Golf Course.

Clemson’s Billy Kennerly shot 67 and is one back. Six players finished 4-under, including Charlotte’s Victor Wiggins, Seth Gandy and Raoul Menard.

As a team, the Tar Heels shot a 2-under 286 and are in fifth place. Charlotte leads the field at 13-under. Florida is second at 7-under followed by Florida State and Clemson, which are tied at 4-under. Wake Forest is 10th in the 13-team field at 6-over.

UNC sophomore Carter Jenkins, a Leesville High graduate, shot an even-par 72. Sophomore Henry Do is 1-over, and senior Brandon Dalinka and freshman Ben Griffin, an alumnus of East Chapel Hill, each shot 75.

The top five teams after three rounds and the low individual outside those five teams will advance to the NCAA championship May 29-June 3 at Bradenton, Fla.

The Tar Heels tee off for the second round at 8:20 a.m. Friday. Admission is free to the public.

Duke: The Blue Devils opened NCAA regional action with an 8-under 276 at the Rawls Course (par 71, 7,349 yards) in Lubbock, Texas. The Blue Devils, who were paced by season-best rounds from Jake Shuman and Turner Southey-Gordon, sit in third place, three shots off the lead.

Texas posted an 11-under 273 to take the tournament lead after day one with Houston (274), Texas Tech (278), Purdue (279) and California (279) rounding out the top-five.

Purdue’s Austin Eoff holds the individual lead at 6-under, one shot ahead of four others in second. Shuman and Southey-Gordon are tied for sixth after finishing at 4-under.

Duke Freshman Adam Wood finished the day tied for 19th at 1-under. Motin Yeung is 1-over, and sophomore Max Greyserman is tied for 68th after at 5-over.

N.C. State: Led by dual 1-over 73s from Carter Page and James Chapman, the Wolfpack (9-over 289) is sixth after the first round of the New Haven (Conn.) Regional. South Florida, led by individual leader Rigel Fernandes (-6), leads the field at 1-over.

Other finisher for N.C. State include: David Cooke (+3), Stanhope Johnson (+4) and Colby Lyles (+9).

N.C. State: Shortstop Renada Davis and pitcher Emily Weiman were named to the All-Southeast Region Team, according to an announcement by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 9:35 PM with the headline "UNC freshman Register takes early lead at NCAA golf Chapel Hill Regional."