Longhorns take lead following first round at local tournament

Nick Cremona

April 5, 2011

The Longhorns played host to the first round of the 45th-annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate golf tournament Monday.

Texas made itself right at home in the first round, shooting 12-over as a team to finish the day in first place.

Fueled by a 1-under round from Julio Vegas, the Longhorns gained a firm lead over their group, which included No. 16 Stanford and No. 17 Arkansas. Vegas finished the round tied for first place with teammate Toni Hakula, who also carded a 1-under. Dylan Frittelli also had a solid first round, finishing at 2-over and sitting in a tie for third on the individual leaderboard. Bobby Hudson, who won the event in 2008 as a redshirt freshman, had a 5-over round, and Cody Gribble sits at 6-over. The two are tied for 13th and 18th, respectively. Johnathan Schnitzer had the least impressive day of the White team, registering a 10-over 81.

The Longhorns will look to hold on to their early lead as TCU sits only four strokes behind in second place.

Texas has an Orange and a White team in the field for this event, with the White team serving as the first team. The White team consists of Hudson, Fritelli, Vegas, Schnitzer and Gribble. The Orange team will compete only as individuals and is made up of senior Chris Causey, freshman Toni Hakula and juniors Adam Wennerstrom, Alex Moon and Brett Spencer.

The 54-hole, two-day tournament is held in memory of former Texas golf standout, Morris Williams, Jr. Williams, an Austin native, was revered as one of the best local golfers for years, and even went on to help Texas claim three Southwest Conference titles in 1947, 1948 and 1950. He finished second in the 1950 NCAA Championships, and upon enlisting in the Air Force after graduation posted an undefeated record in service academy tournaments.

Williams died in a plane crash in 1953, and the memorial tournament was founded in 1966.