Sophomore Alex Kapraun shot +4 leading the St. Thomas men’s golf team in the opening round at the NCAA tournament in Destin, Fla., Tuesday.

The Tommies have an overall team score of +26, tied for 20th after the first day of the four-day, 41-team tournament. The team sits four spots out of the cut-line for rounds three and four Thursday and Friday.

This isn’t the first time around the block for this St. Thomas team. The team includes All-American Kapraun, Bennett Schroeder, Brian Parkhurst, John Young and Michael Mortenson. Last year, Kapraun tied for 14th at nationals while Parkhurst tied for 40th. The team finished 16th and missed the cut by one stroke.

Kapraun’s score of 75 placed him in a tie for 48th on the leaderboard at the end of Tuesday’s round. Kapraun’s front nine included five pars, three bogeys and one birdie. The back nine featured two birdies, one double-bogey, four pars and two birdies.

The rest of the team had its ups and downs on the day. Mortenson shot +7 (78) on the day, Young shot +9 (80) and Schroeder scored himself +12 (83).

Mortenson will tee off first Wednesday, followed by Young, Parkhurst, Schroeder, and Kapraun in a crucial second round for the Tommies.

O’Brien sits tied for 17th after day one of women’s nationals

Doyle O’Brien sits tied for 17th, after shooting a +7 (79) on the first day of the D-III women’s golf national tournament in Destin, Fla. Tuesday.

This is not the first time that O’Brien has been on the big stage of nationals. She attended St. Mary’s College (Ind.) the last two seasons. Last season while competing for St. Mary’s, she tied for sixth place and shot the lowest score on day three.

O’Brien posted four pars, three birdies and two double bogeys on the front nine. The junior recorded three pars, three birdies and three bogeys on the back nine.

O’Brien tees off at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday. She is paired with Emily Guthrie from Whitworth (Wash.) and Catherine Wagner from Wiscomsin-Eau Claire.

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.