ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's golf team opened play at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on Thursday at the St. Joseph Country Club. The Cardinals shot a 297 (+13) in the first round and are tied for 10th place out of 20 teams.

Jiseung Choi led the way for SVSU, carding a 73 (+2). He recorded pars on 14 of the 18 holes and birdied the 17th to finish tied for 23rd. Thomas Keyte followed closely with a 74 (+3), placing him in a tie for 29th.

Shea Harmeson and Joey Per each shot 75 (+4) and are tied for 49th place. Evan Klein rounded out the lineup with a 76 (+5), highlighted by four birdies, the most by any Cardinal in the opening round.

The seven teams ahead of SVSU are all within five strokes, keeping the race tight heading into the next two rounds.

Head coach Mike Masten said this after the first round,

"The couse is in fantastic shape - greens are perfect and slice. Well-placed shots into the greens were rewarded with birdie opportunites. The guys really battled out there. We were fortunate to get an early tee time, as the course definitely firmed up and played tougher in the afternoon."

Up Next: The Saginaw Valley men's golf team will look to climb the leaderboard in round two of the Midwest Regional on Friday, May 9. The Cardinals tee off at 1:30 PM EDT at the St. Joseph Country Club and are grouped with Ohio Dominican and Concordia-St. Paul.