Mizzou Men’s Golf standout Jace Long opened play at the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship on Tuesday and the Dixon, Mo., native fired a 2-under-par 70 to tie for fifth place after the first day of action in Stillwater, Okla.

The 2011 NCAA Championship is being played at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla. The home course of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Karsten Creek is a par-72 venue that spans 7,416-yards.

Long played magnificently in his opening round and only a rough two-hole stretch kept him from placing atop the leaderboard. Long began his round with an eagle on the par-5 first hole and battled to 3-under-par after a birdie on the par-4 12th.

The nation’s 25th-ranked player fell back to even par after a double bogey on the 15th and a bogey on the 16th, but surged once again to record birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to sit inside the Top 5.

Long is just three shots back of first place. He is also tops amongst all individual qualifiers competing in this year’s field and only Texas A&M’s Cameron Peck (-4) fired a better opening-round score amongst Big 12 players.

The Top 5 showing after round one highlights an exciting day for the Central Missouri native. Long was also named to the NCAA Division I PING All-Region Team on Tuesday, just one of 18 Big 12 performers to make the Central Region listing.

Long continues action at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships on Wednesday.