Ohno Cards Low Round, Lazor Tied for Fifth at Firestone Invitational

Monday, October 1

Akron, Ohio

Dartmouth College

First Two Rounds

Sophomore Sam Ohno ripped off an 8-under 64 in the opening round.

Photo by: Tim Cowie

Ohno Cards Low Round, Lazor Tied for Fifth at Firestone Invitational

10/1/2018 7:34:00 PM | Men's Golf

Results from First Two Rounds

Sophomore Sam Ohno shoots 8-under in first round, Lazor 4-under at the end of the day

By: Rick Bender

AKRON, Ohio — Sophomore Sam Ohno carded the lowest single round in relation to par by a Dartmouth golfer in over 15 years with an 8-under 64 at the end of the first 18 holes at the Firestone Invitational hosted by the University of Akron. But by the end of the day, it was senior John Lazor that led the Big Green, tied for fifth with 71-69—140 (-4), as the team finished the first two rounds tied for 10th in the 17-team field with a 284-296—580 (+4).

After beginning the day with a bogey on the 12th hole of the par-72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club North Course, Ohno caught fire with birdies on 13 and 15, then dropped an eagle on the par-5, 545-yard 18th to go to 3-under after seven holes. On the first nine, he had a stretch of four birdies in a five-hole span, and closed his round with a birdie on 10 and a par on 11 for his 64, putting him in the lead by three strokes.

Lazor, meanwhile, put together a solid opening round with a 1-under 71 featuring four birdies, putting him in a tie for 15th. Freshman Mark Turner and junior Will Bednarz also sank four birdies in their opening round, finishing the first 18 at 2- and 3-over par, respectively. The four scores pushed Dartmouth into third place with a 4-under 284, six strokes off the pace set by Connecticut while Ohio was second with a 287 (-7).

In the second round, Lazor added six more birdies to his ledger while suffering only three bogeys for his 3-under 69, leaving him as one of six players that are three strokes behind Winthrop's Ryan Tattan who shot a 69-68—137 to claim the lead. Furman's Keller Harper and Ohio's Zach Crawford sit just one stroke back, and Eastern Michigan's Ty Celone is in all alone in fourth at 5-under par.

Big Green sophomore captain Jason Liu shrugged off a triple-bogey on his third hole of the second round to play the final 15 at even par with four birdies to card a 75 (+3), while Bednarz and Turner were just one stroke worse at 4-over par. Ohno could not maintain the torrid pace he set earlier in the day, falling down the leaderboard into a tie for 21st following a 7-over 79 to conclude the 36 holes with a 1-under 143.

Ohio was one of five schools to beat par in both rounds, producing two of the three lowest scores on the day to shoot 281-283—564 (-12) and holds a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Connecticut (278-288—566).

The third and final round will begin tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. with teams teeing off from the first and 10th holes. Dartmouth will be one of the last teams on the course, beginning with Liu on the 10th hole at 10 a.m.

Notes: The only comparable round by a Dartmouth golfer in the last 15 years was turned in by three-time Ivy League Player of the Year Peter Williamson '12 who carded a 7-under 63 in the second round of The McLaughlin on Sept. 15, 2011.