ORANGEBURG, SC—The Carson-Newman men's golf team is tied for fourth place after day one of the SAC Championships, following a handful of impressive rounds.
Noah Cambridge is leading the Eagles in his first postseason appearance. He tied for 9th after a 72-stroke effort in the event's opening round.
The freshman started the day nicely, shooting two birdies on the first three holes to negate an early double bogey. Cambridge birdied again down the stretch of the front nine to limit the damage of two bogeys. On the back nine, Cambridge shot six of nine holes at par and added another birdie to finish the round at 2-over.
Elliot MacGregor also finished day one tied for 9th, shooting a 72 in the first round.
MacGregor showed his postseason experience with a consistent first round, starting his day with a birdie before shooting six of the eight remaining holes on the front nine at par after a double bogey on hole six to make the turn at 2-over. MacGregor birdied on the first two holes of the back nine before shooting five straight holes at par down the stretch. However, MacGregor tallied two bogeys on 12 and 18, putting him at 2-over on the day.
Luke Stock and Aidan Powter sit tied for 14th after day one, shooting identical 73s in the first round.
Stock was mostly at par throughout the first round and did a nice job bouncing back after three holes over par to end the front nine. After that stretch, Stock had just one hole over par and a birdie to negate the bogey and shot the final seven holes of the round at par to finish at 3-over.
Aidan Powter shot a similar first round, stroking back-to-back birdies on the front nine before three holes over par to end the first nine holes. However, like Stock, Powter responded on the back nine. Shooting a birdie on hole 10, Powter shot the next five holes at par before a birdie and a bogey on 16 and 17, followed by a par on 18 to finish the round at 3-over.
Nick Daugherty rounded out the Eagles on day one, finishing tied for 41st following a 78-stroke effort in the first round.
On the front nine, Daugherty shot six of nine holes at par, but the other three were bogeys, putting him at 3-over after the first nine holes. On the back nine, he added five strokes on three holes over par but limited the damage with a birdie and five holes at par to finish the round at 8-over.
There is not much separating the field after day one, as just two strokes separate C-N, Lenoir-Rhyne, and Coker, who are tied for first after shooting 8-over on the first day of action. Anderson joins the Eagles in 4th, and Wingate sits above both squads in third at 9-over.
With plenty of golf left to play, the Eagles will look to climb the ladder further in a tightly contested SAC field in the second round tomorrow in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
