Shaw and Caldwell enjoy different fortunes

Gareth Shaw and Johnny Caldwell, Ireland’s collegiate golfing stars of the 2007-08 US season, enjoyed contrasting fortunes as the NCAA East Regional Championship got under way in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

East Tennessee State University senior Shaw, from Lisburn, opened Thursday’s first round of play at the Council Fire Golf Club with a four-under-par 67 that left the Atlantic Sun Conference champion tied for seventh place individually and very much in contention for individual medalist honours.

Sun Belt Conference champion Caldwell, meanwhile, suffered as a late starter in inclement conditions as he shot a two-over 73 for the University of South Alabama that puts him in the unfamiliar surroundings of a tie for 78th place heading into Friday’s second round of this 54-hole tournament.

Shaw, who like Caldwell was selected last week for the European Palmer Cup side to take on their American collegiate rivals in a Ryder Cup-style competition in Scotland next month, birdied three of the first five holes and finished the day with seven birdies and three bogeys to post a 67.

However, his efforts were unable to save the all-Irish and British ETSU men’s team from a tough day at Council Fire.

The Buccaneers, ranked 21st nationally, fired a team score of two-over 286 and were tied for 17th on the team leaderboard, seven spots out of a coveted spot in the top 10 that will, after the Saturday's third and final round, earn them a spot in the NCAA Championships later this month.

No. 1-ranked Georgia currently leads the event at 19-under, eight strokes better than second place Augusta State.

Shaw’s team-mate Seamus Power of West Waterford finished at even-par 71 to tie for 46th, with a pair of three-over 74s coming from Cornish freshmen Rhys Enoch and Belfast’s Simon Doherty to tie for 96th, while Limerick’s Cian McNamara struggled to a 10-over 81 and was 138th on the overnight leaderboard.

“Gareth played well, was really solid and held us in there,” ETSU head coach Fred Warren said. “We really should have played better, but we didn’t get any help from the weather. For the teams in the morning the weather was just ideal, but we were in the afternoon and it definitely changed conditions out there.

“That’s no excuse though. We should have still played a better round. We’ve dug a hole now, so we need some of the guys to play better tomorrow.”

If ETSU were late out, Caldwell and South Alabama were at even more of disadvantage, having been given the second to last tee time and left to fight all day through showers.

“We played in the rain all day long and he missed a couple of opportunities that I think he would have made if it wouldn’t have been so awful on the course,” South Alabama head coach Ben Hannan said of Caldwell.

“If he can put an under par score up tomorrow I think he will have a good chance on Saturday.”