Khan Leads Cardinals Through First Round At Dorado Beach
February 23, 2025 | Men's Golf
DORADO, Puerto Rico -- Ali Khan fired five birdies over 18 holes Sunday to finish with a 3-under par 69 and pace Ball State in the opening round of the Dorado Beach Collegiate at TPC Dorado Beach.
Khan, a senior from Columbus, Ohio, opened the shotgun start on the second hole. He shot par on his first two holes then collected a two-shot birdie on No. 4. He stayed below par the rest of the day, shooting 1-under par on the front nine and 2-under on the back nine.
Playing out of the No. 3 position in Ball State's lineup, Khan was the only Cardinals golfer to finish under par in Round 1. Carter Smith shot par 72 in the opening round, with Kash Bellar at +1, Braxton Kuntz at +2 and Gavin Hare at +3, producing an even par team score that was tied with James Madison for 10th place in the 16-team field. The Cardinals (288) and JMU (288) sit two strokes behind George Mason (286), and six behind seventh-place Southern Mississippi (282) and Winthrop (282).
Ball State's slow start was in contrast to its performance on the par-72 Sugarcane Course last year when it set a program record, relative to par, at -26 over two rounds of play, and ultimately finished in second place.
Veteran coach Mike Fleck addressed his team's slow start in his post-round comments: "Today's round got off to a bad start. When you aren't hitting fairways, then missing greens, take on too many penalty shots and fail to convert on, and around, the greens --Â you put yourself in a tough spot as a team. Many teams made a lot of birdies on what played as a very gettable golf course today. Unfortunately we didn't keep pace. Tomorrow is a new day and we've got to position ourselves to make a lot of birdies!"
Playing as individuals for Ball State, Happy Gilmore finished at +3 for the day, and Avery Mahoney was +4.
Another shotgun start is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Atlantic Time, when the teams begin play in round two. Tournament host and defending champion UNC Greensboro (273) is currently in first place with a two-stroke lead over Temple (275), and followed by Illinois State (278) and Connecticut (278), tied in third.
Khan, a senior from Columbus, Ohio, opened the shotgun start on the second hole. He shot par on his first two holes then collected a two-shot birdie on No. 4. He stayed below par the rest of the day, shooting 1-under par on the front nine and 2-under on the back nine.
Playing out of the No. 3 position in Ball State's lineup, Khan was the only Cardinals golfer to finish under par in Round 1. Carter Smith shot par 72 in the opening round, with Kash Bellar at +1, Braxton Kuntz at +2 and Gavin Hare at +3, producing an even par team score that was tied with James Madison for 10th place in the 16-team field. The Cardinals (288) and JMU (288) sit two strokes behind George Mason (286), and six behind seventh-place Southern Mississippi (282) and Winthrop (282).
Ball State's slow start was in contrast to its performance on the par-72 Sugarcane Course last year when it set a program record, relative to par, at -26 over two rounds of play, and ultimately finished in second place.
Veteran coach Mike Fleck addressed his team's slow start in his post-round comments: "Today's round got off to a bad start. When you aren't hitting fairways, then missing greens, take on too many penalty shots and fail to convert on, and around, the greens --Â you put yourself in a tough spot as a team. Many teams made a lot of birdies on what played as a very gettable golf course today. Unfortunately we didn't keep pace. Tomorrow is a new day and we've got to position ourselves to make a lot of birdies!"
Playing as individuals for Ball State, Happy Gilmore finished at +3 for the day, and Avery Mahoney was +4.
Another shotgun start is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Atlantic Time, when the teams begin play in round two. Tournament host and defending champion UNC Greensboro (273) is currently in first place with a two-stroke lead over Temple (275), and followed by Illinois State (278) and Connecticut (278), tied in third.
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