Manke Shoots 4-Over 74 On Day One At NCAA Championships

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Washington senior golfer RJ Manke finished his first round at the 2022 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships with a 4-over 74, good for a tie for 62nd place after the first of four rounds.
 
Manke, one of six players competing as an individual alongside 30 teams, is just four strokes outside of the top-10 in a tightly packed field at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 
On a day where the best team score was 2-over (Vanderbilt) and only seven of 156 players were under par, Manke made par on each of the first nine holes. He opened the back nine with his first birdie of the day, making a three on the 390-yard 10th hole.
 
Manke fell back to even with a narrow miss of a par putt on the par-3 13th, but even par was good for a tie for eighth on the individual leaderboard, at the time.
 
However, he ran into a tough stretch beginning on No. 13, carding bogies on the 13th, 15th and 16th holes, along with a double on No. 14.

“The course is very difficult and a real test of patience,” said UW head coach Alan Murray. “RJ played really well and only hit a couple of loose shots, which shows how tough it is playing. Making birdies is extremely difficult and patience is a virtue out there for sure.”

 

Saturday, Manke will tee off for his second round on hole No. 10, at 8:22 a.m. PT. After Sunday’s third round, the field will be cut from 30 to 15 teams, with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team also competing in a fourth round on Monday, when the individual champion will be crowned.

“RJ has a really good plan for playing the course and just needs to stick to it,” Murray added. “The pins were tough today and I think with the slightly softer conditions in the morning he will be presented with more opportunities to score Today was tough with the late tee time and the hot conditions.”