HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. — Alec Spencer of the La Verne men's golf team got off to a steady start at the 2017 NCAA Division III National Championships, carding a 1-over 73 to tie for 17th place after the first round. Spencer was selected to participate in the championships as an individual.

Spencer started on the 10th hole and grabbed a birdie on the 12th. He bogeyed the 14th, but saved par on the next seven holes to stay within range of the leaders. He then went bogey-birdie-bogey from the fourth through the sixth to go 1-over but closed the round with three straight pars.

Spencer sits four shots back of leader Addison Lambeth (Huntingdon), who fired a 3-under 69.

Spencer will tee off a 8:20 a.m. ET tomorrow with Pomona-Pitzer's Conor Rooney and Berry's Jake Elmore. There will be a cut to the leading 15 teams and six individuals not on one of those teams for the final two rounds of the tournament.