PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Bentley University senior Tommy Ethier (Nashua, N.H./Bishop Guertin HS) shot a three-over-par 75 Monday and finished day one of the NCAA Division II Golf Championships in a nine-way tie for 18th place at the PGA National Champions Course.  The 54-hole tournament will run through Wednesday.

Ethier, the medalist from the NCAA East/Atlantic Regional, opened the tournament with a pair of pars before shooting three straight bogrys (3rd, 4th and 5th holes). He bounced back with a bird on the par-5, 488-yard sixth hole and finished the front nine three-over.

Ethier started the back nine with an eagle on the par-five, 525-yard tenth hole. He parred six of the next eight holes, a stretch that included back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15.

Ethier is four strokes back of co-leaders Santiago De La Fuente (Arkansas Tech) and Ian Trebilcock (Washburn), both of whom had a 71, and two strokes out of fourth.

"Conditions were very tough today," said Bentley coach Mickey Herron. "They played it essentially the same as they do the PGA tour Honda Classic with sloped greens, fast and firm, and hole positions near the edge on about two-thirds of the holes. All that resulted in record-setting high scores for both team and individual play

"The key to Tommy's round would be played the difficult holes (2, 7, 9, 11, 17) in even par. So despite making bogeys on some of the easier holes, his score put him in contention against some of the finest amateur golfers in the country," concluded Herron.

Ethier's tee time on Tuesday is scheduled for 11:54 am.