BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – The No. 28 Valdosta battled the elements along with the other 15 teams competing in the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Golf South/Southeast Regional Thursday as the Blazers carded a 306 score for the first round.
 
Play was halted for almost an hour as rain moved through the area and left windy conditions and exceeding 25 miles per hour the rest of the day as all of the scores suffered as a result.  The Blazers also were shorthanded Thursday with just four counting scores to factor for the team score as freshman Ryan Pollman wasn't able to compete Thursday. 
 
"It's always difficult when you only have four guys playing," VSU head coach Jared Purvis said.  Luckily, we are still within striking distance with 36 holes remaining.  Hopefully Ryan (Pollman) will be able to return tomorrow and give one more score."
 
Normally the highest score is dropped for the team score for each round in collegiate golf, but Thursday with just four players the Blazers weren't able to do that without a fifth score.  For the Blazers, sophomore Chase Weathers carded a team-best 73 and is tied for 17^th, while senior AJ Ouimet fired a 76^th and currently is tied for 58^th.  Senior Wesley Hanson fired a 78 and is tied for 71^st, while freshman Hayden Smith carded a 79 and is tied for 77^th. 
 
In an absolutely stacked field, year-after-year, this year the regional has 15 of the 16 teams ranked in the top 30 of Golfstat.  No. 25 Nova Southeastern leads the way with a 1-over 289 on the par 72, 7,139-yard Streamsong Resort.  No. 12 Columbus State and No. 27 Florida Southern are tied for second at 291, while No. 11 Georgia Southwestern and No. 2 Lincoln Memorial are tied for fourth at 294.
 
No. 7 Barry is sixth (295), followed by No. 19 North Georgia (296) and a tie for eighth between No. 15 Georgia College, No. 3 Lynn and No. 8 Lee each with a 297.  No. 9 Young Harris, No. 13 Saint Leo and the only unranked team, Mount Olive, are tied for 11^th with a 299 score.  No. 5 South Carolina-Aiken is 14^th at 301, followed by No. 1 West Florida (304) and the Blazers at 306. 
 
Individually, Nova Southeastern's Joseba Torres leads the 86-player field with a 3-under 69, followed by No. 1-ranked Dan Bradbury of Lincoln Memorial, Olle Ryberg of Mount Olive and Johnny Tucker of Florida Southern and Erskine's Alberto Avila each at 2-under 70.  Avila qualified for the super regional as an individual. 
 
Following Saturday's third and final round, the top four finishing teams advance to the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship, scheduled for May 17-21 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.  Also, the top individual finisher on a non-advancing team also qualifies for the NCAA National Championship.
 
Valdosta State begins the second round Friday at 11:10 a.m. ET off hole No. 1 in the second wave of teams and is paired with North Georgia and five of the six individuals.
 
Click on the link to the right for live stats of the championship and check back with vstateblazers.com Friday afternoon for a complete recap and stats of the second round.