PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – A stellar 10-stroke improvement in the afternoon round by Tom Forster (Oundle, England) highlighted No. 8 Carson-Newman's first day of the Shark Invitational with the team sitting at 12th-place at PGA National's Championship Course.
The Eagles opened the tournament 32-shots over par with a 320 total before shooting 13-strokes better in the later portion of the day. They hold a 627 total after the first 36 holes. The team tied for the fifth-most birdies on the first day with 18.
"Played poorly in the wind on a tough course today," coach Randy Wylie said. "We have to become better in the wind and be tougher competitors. Great afternoon round from Tom Forster."
Forster, C-N's second-seed, ended the day in a tie for fourth, launching 22 slots up the leaderboard between the two rounds with a 146 total, landing him at two-over par, just two shots out of first. He shot for par on 14 of his first round holes, the other four holes resulting in a trio of bogeys and a triple-bogey on the par-five hole-3 for a six-over opening round total of 78.
The junior salvaged his highest opening round score of the season by shooting four-under in the second round, the best of anyone in the field for the round. He carded seven birdies in the afternoon with a trio of birdies that came exclusively on par 4s en route to a 68.
Forster tied for second-best Par 3 and Par 4 scoring with -1 and +1 averages, respectively. His seven birdies through 54 holes also tied for second-best in the field.
No. 3 seed Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) was +12 through Monday with a 156, enough for a share of 37th after improving his placement on the board by 20 spaces. In the morning, he was nine-over with five bogeys and three double bogeys but received help through a pair of birdies. He was six shots better in the afternoon, especially due in part to his even showing in the back nine where he was on par for five holes with a couple of birdies and bogeys near the bookends.
The team's top-seed Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) faced a six-shot decline through the two rounds to tie for 61st, 18over for a 162. He was six-over in the first round of play with a 78, his highest first round score of this season. He carded the team's best showing in the front nine during the first round at two-over with back-to-back bogeys. A birdie on 14 was sandwiched by a bogey and double bogey before shooting two more bogeys to close out the first round.
The second round brought struggles for the senior, shooting the highest round of his career with a 12-over 84. He was 10-over in the back nine with a pair of bogeys, a double bogey and two more triple bogeys.
Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.), the fourth-seed, sits one shot behind Headrick, tied for 68th with a 163, 19-over par. He was +11 in the morning round with 10 bogeys, a birdie and double bogey. The sophomore split his eight-over showing evenly in the afternoon, going four-over in the front and back nine. He tallied nine more bogeys in the second round with a birdie on hole-10.
No. 5 seed Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.) sits in a four-way tie for the last spot on the leaderboard at 27-over par with a 171. The first round's back nine brought some struggles in the form of three bogeys and two triple-bogeys. He was four shots better in the front nine, opening the portion with another triple-bogey before carding three bogeys and two birdies to go 14-over in the round. He made a one-shot improvement in the second round of the day with an 85. There he tallied five bogeys with three triple bogeys and a birdie.
The senior was the best Eagle when it came to Par-5 shooting with an even average on such holes.
Fourth-ranked Saint Leo sits atop the lead through two rounds at 13-over with a 589 total. No. 6 Florida Tech is eight strokes behind the leaders at +21. Keiser University is third with a 603.
On top of that, Saint Leo also holds the top-three players in the field as Simon Knutsson and Oliver Lilliedahl sit in a tie for first even for par. One shot behind them is Alberto Castagnara at third.
The Invitational continues on Tuesday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Live scoring will once again be provided through the final 18 holes of play.