The St. Thomas Aquinas College golf team is in Allendale, Michigan for the NCAA Golf Championships. Spartan golfer Tom Linehan will be sharing his experience in a daily diary, starting today. Tom and his teammates play their first round of action Monday morning, May 19.

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Day 1 - Sunday, May 18

-My four years at St Thomas Aquinas are coming to a close, but what could be better than playing in the National Championship for my last collegiate event? This is my third time to nationals as my freshman year was in Alabama, sophomore year was in Louisville, and now we are in Grand Rapids Michigan.

Today we played the practice round, and the main topic of conversation for all of the top teams in the country is the rough. It is tall, thick, and nasty. The fairways are pristine, and the greens are true and fast. In our team meeting following the practice round we made a plan of attack, and talked about how important course management will be.

To prepare for the biggest tournament of the year we played some of the best courses in the tri-state. We are truly fortunate and grateful to have the opportunity to play Paramount Country Club, The Seawane Club, Wykagyl Country Club, and Westchester Country Club. All of the courses were in fantastic shape, and prepared us nicely.

The first ball will be in the air for STAC Monday at 8:20am. Be sure to follow live scoring at www.golfstat.com, and the team's twitter account @STACgolf.

Thanks for the support! And of course, GO SPARTANS!

-Tommy Linehan
Co-Captain STAC golf team