TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of South Alabama men's golfer Peter Staalbo began his first-ever postseason appearance for the Jaguars with five straight pars, but a 41 on the back nine of the course resulted in an 80 on the opening day of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.

The sophomore is tied for 58th in the field of 75 players after 18 holes.

"Peter played hard today, he got off to a solid start," said Jag head coach Ben Hannan.  "The greens are firm, fast and very undulating, he just couldn't get the ball on the right tier so he had a lot of sloped putts and struggled with the speed all day.  He birdied No. 16 and had an unforced error on No. 17, otherwise it was the putter and the speed of the greens that he struggled with."

Teeing off on the first hole at the par-72, 7,512-yard Ol' Colony Golf Course, Staalbo was even through five holes; that included pars with a four on Nos. 1 and 5 — playing at 474 and 485 yards, respectively — as well as at the 578-yard third.  He added a par at the 213-yard seventh hole and was 3 over at the turn.  After parring three of the first four holes on the back nine, Staalbo carded his lone birdie of the round at No. 16, a par-four playing at 491 yards, but ended the day with a double bogey and bogey on the last two holes.

Fifth-ranked Georgia and No. 17 South Carolina — the first- and third-seeded teams, respectively — were the lone squads to break par on the first 18 holes of the event, with the Bulldogs posting a 4-under-par 284 total to take a three-shot lead on the Gamecocks.  UGA's Zach Healy and Greyson Sigg were tied with Jeremy Paul of Colorado for the individual lead after the opening round, with the trio recording 4-under-par 68 scores.

The second round of the regional will get underway Tuesday at 8 a.m. (CDT), with teams teeing off on both the first and 10th holes.

"This is a hard golf course, but I expect Peter to bounce back," Hannan stated.  "He is a very good golfer, he wouldn't be here otherwise.  I know he is disappointed in his start, but he will show up tomorrow ready to play and compete."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—

NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional
Ol' Colony Golf Course, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Par 72, 7,512 yards
Team Scores: 1) Georgia 284 (-4); 2) South Carolina 287; 3) Kentucky 288; 4) Nevada-Las Vegas 2290; 5) Alabama 292; 6) Auburn 294; 7) Colorado 296; 8) Charleston 298; 9) Lipscomb 302; 10) Kansas 308; 11) Southern Illinois 314; 12) Charleston Southern 315; 13) Harvard 323.

Individual Leaders: T1) Jeremy Paul, CU 68 (-4); T1) Greyson Sigg, UGA 68; T1) Zach Healy, UGA 68; 4) Michael Johnson, Aub 69; T5) William Rainey, CoC 70; T5) Matthew NeSmith, USC 70; T5) Shintaro Ban, UNLV 70; T5) Lukas Euler, UK; T9) four individuals with 71.

South Alabama Scores: T58) Peter Staalbo* 80 (+8).
*competing as an individual