ST. GEORGE, Utah – North Dakota State men's golf opened up the Spring 2022 schedule on Friday with the first round of the Pizza Hut Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational at the Sunbrook Golf Course.
The Bison sit seventh overall in the 14-team field, with
Nate Deziel and
Ian Simonich leading the way for North Dakota State. Deziel, golfing as an individual, sits in a tie for second after shooting a -6 round of 66 to sit one shot off the lead held by Sacramento State's Ethan Davidson. Deziel's 66 is tied for the sixth best round in program history. He finished with two eagles and four birdies in the round.
Simonich sits in a tie for eighth overall after carding a -3 round of 69. Simonich had five birdies in the round, tied for the most among NDSU golfers with
Nate Adams.
Jack Johnson sits third for the Bison and tied for 25
th overall in the 92-golfer field after the first round. Johnson shot a +1 round of 73. He carded four birdies, five bogeys and nine pars in the round.
Adams sits one shot behind Johnson and in a tie for 38
th overall after shooting a 74. Adams joined Simonich with five birdies but also had four bogeys and a triple bogey. Adams started out at -4 through his first nine holes, but dropped six shots in the final seven holes.
The Bison hung around the top three for most of the day but fell back to seventh overall at +5 for the round as a team.
North Dakota State is slated to return to the course on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. MT to begin the second round.
