Forster sharing lead, Eagles sixth at South Regional Preview

Day One Results

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Tom Forster's (Oundle, England) six-under performance Monday gave him a share of first-place while helping Carson-Newman to sit in sixth through the first two rounds of the South Regional Preview at the Irene Country Club.

"Tom had a very good day for the Eagles," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "Unfortunately, the rest of the team could not back him up. We will need a real team effort to climb the leaderboard tomorrow as we can't just rely on one player."

Forster carded back-to-back rounds of 69 to hold a two-shot lead on the rest of the field.

Through the first 18 holes, Carson-Newman was sitting in fifth-place at four over with a 292, just six shots out of the lead. The entire group added on a shot to the team score in the second round to go nine-over on the day. C-N enters Tuesday's final round 12 shots out of the lead.

The Eagles were the fourth-best team in the field for par-3 scoring with a six-over average. They totaled the fourth-most pars with 113 with 25 birdies.

Forster went wire-to-wire for the lead through both rounds on Monday. The senior was tied for first through the turn of the day thanks to a three-under 69 in the first round. He fired five birdies in the morning, mostly on par-4s. He tacked on five more birdies in the afternoon for a 138 total.

Through 36 holes, Forster tied for second on par-4s with a three-under average while tying for fifth on par-5s at three-under. His 10 birdies were enough for the third-most in the field.

Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) tied for 18th by the end of Monday at three-over. He saw a 72 in the opening round, placing him in a tie for 12th on four birdies and bogeys. The junior added three strokes to his score through the second round. Despite carding a pair of bogeys, his five bogeys elevated him to a 75 in the later round, pushing his total to 147.

Hodge averaged a one-under showing on par-4s through the first two rounds, good enough for a tie for fifth on such holes.

Both Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Fintan McKenna (Aberdeen, Scotland) shot a 150 on Monday to share 33rd at six-over.

Mynatt's first round brought a 74 with a double-bogey on the par-4 10th, leaving him in a tie for 22nd at two-over heading into the afternoon. By the end of the second round, he had found two more birdies but four bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-3 fourth hole pushed him to a 76 in the round. He fell 11 spots through the round.

McKenna moved nine spots up the leaderboard from the first round to the second. The senior was five-over to start the day in a tie for 42nd after not seen a hole below par in the round. He was even on 14-of-18 holes in the morning. He improved by four strokes in the afternoon with a one-under round on four bogeys and three birdies.

Just one shot behind the duo was C-N's individual in the event Ethan Rimmer (Knoxville, Tenn.), in a tie for 40th at seven-over. He was five-over through the first 18 holes with four bogeys and a double-bogey that overshadowed his lone birdie in the round. The freshman brought in two birdies in the latter round with four bogeys for a 151 total.

Zach Young (Crossville, Tenn.) had the biggest improvement from the first round to the second despite sitting a tie for 66th at 17-over. He saw the most struggles in the first round compared to his Orange and Blue counterparts, sitting in a tie for 73rd with a 12-over score, due mainly in part to a six-over showing on his first hole of the day. The sophomore took seven shots off his score in the afternoon with a round of 77 on five bogeys, a pair of birdies and a double-bogey.

No. 13 Lincoln Memorial and Young Harris lead the field in a tie for first with a three-under 573. Columbus State rounds out the top-three with an even 576.

Forster shares the top spot on the player leaderboard with West Florida's Harry Butler. LMU's Dan Bradbury trails the pair by two shots heading into the final round with a 140 total.

The tournament concludes on Tuesday with one more round beginning at 7:30 a.m. Hodge will be the first Eagle on the links at 7:39 a.m. Live scoring will once again be provided through Golfstat.