SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 16/21 Carson-Newman shot a two-over round on Sunday to land in a tie for third by end of the first day of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate at the Sevierville Golf Club.
The Eagles' 290 in the opening round is their second-lowest opening round score in five appearances. On the season, C-N has carded a 290 three times now, all of those occurrences happening in the opening round of three consecutive events. It is 14 shots out of the lead heading into the second round.
"Very mediocre play today; we need to really pick it up tomorrow," coach Randy Wylie said. "Solid round by freshman Jake Mynatt. There's a long way to go in this tournament."
Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) was the top Eagle on the leaderboard by the end of Sunday with a share of sixth-place after two-under showing. He fired a 70, giving him his best opening round score and matching his second-lowest single round score on the season.
The freshman tied for third on Par 4 scoring with a two-under average of 3.80 while going one-under on par 5 scoring at 4.75. He also tacked on four birdies.
One shot behind Mynatt was Tom Forster (Northamptonshire, England) at one-under for a tie at ninth-place. This is the second-straight season the junior has carded a 71 in the first round of the event.
Forster was one-under on Par 4 scoring with a 3.90 scoring average on such holes. He carded a trio of birdies in the round, as well.
Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) was two over in the first round, giving him a share of 31st. The sophomore carded a 74, giving him a new low first round score in the event. On the season, he has shot a 74 two previous times, those being in the first and second rounds of the Aflac/Cougar Invitational back in September.
On the day, Tyler also shot four birdies.
One stroke back from Tyler was Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) with a three-over round of 75 to tie him for 45th. His Sunday outing gives the senior a new second-lowest opening round score, four shots off of his lowest mark he set back in 2017 with a 71. He has now gone back-to-back events with opening round scores of 75.
Headrick was one-under on Par 5 holes, holding a 4.75 average on those shots in the first round.
Also sitting tied for 45th with Headrick is Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.), a last-minute addition to the field as an individual. This is the second time he has shot a 75 at the BNI, the last time coming in the opening round of his first appearance at the event in 2017.
Fintan McKenna (Aberdeen, Scotland) landed in a tie for 60th to round out the Orange and Blue on the leaderboard with a four-over score of 76 in his BNI debut. He notched a one-under showing on Par 5 holes with a 4.75 scoring average on such holes.
Lee, No. 29 among Division-II teams, leads the field through the first round after a 12-under day. Eastern Kentucky was four-shots back for second-place as the only other team to land under par for the round. Tied with Carson-Newman for third heading into Monday is IUPUI.
Lee's Scott Odell and Eastern Kentucky's Martin Eliasson tied for the top spot on the leaderboard by the end of Sunday with a five-under score of 67. One shot back for third-place was IUPUI's Nick Bienz.
The Intercollegiate continues on Monday with another round of 18 beginning at noon. Check back to cneagles.com for a recap on the day's events.