CAMDEN, S.C. – A bevy of bogeys plagued No. 14/15 Carson-Newman in the opening round of the South Atlantic Conference Championship, leaving it at eighth-place by the end of Sunday.
As a team, the Eagles were 17-over on the day with a 297 round score. They carded 24 bogeys and 11 birdies, leaving them 19 shots out of the lead heading into Monday's round.
"The Eagles seemed unprepared for this tricky, classic golf course," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "I think we were fooled by the relatively short yardage of the course, causing us to think today would be easy and it was anything but easy.
"We're going to have to regather our strategy and mental approach to have any chance to bounce back and compete in this event. We picked a poor time to have probably our worst day of the year. We've got some tough-minded players and I fully expect us to bounce back with good rounds on Monday and Tuesday. It's time to show some pride in being an Eagle.
Tom Forster (Northamptonshire, England) used a two-under opening round to land in a tie for 12th with a 72. The junior was three-over heading into the back nine with a pair of bogeys along with a double bogey and just one birdie. He took back some ground beyond the turn with a bogey and two more birdies, giving him the team's best showing through the last nine holes at one under.
Also tied for 12th with Forster is Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.). He carded a birdie out the gate before shooting for par on the next seven holes. The par-4 ninth hole brought a triple bogey, sitting him at two-over at the turn. He was even through the back nine with a pair of birdies and bogeys.
Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) tied for 31st by the end of Sunday with a six-over 76. Of his seven bogeys in the round, four came exclusively on par-4 holes. His lone birdie of the day came on the par-4 10th.
One shot behind Tyler was Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.), sitting in a tie for 41st with a 77. The senior birdied a trio of holes all in the back nine but four bogeys and three double bogeys left him at seven-over in the round.
Will Collins (Knoxville, Tenn.) ent nine-over in the first round, giving him a share of 46th. The freshman was four-over heading into the turn on two bogeys and a double bogey. The back nine opened with a bogey before a six-hole sequence of a birdie with five bogeys gave him a 79 on Sunday.
Newberry was the only team to end up in the red through the first round with a two-under 278. Coker was second at four-over while Queens was seven-over in the round with a 284.
Two of the top three players in the field by the end of Monday came from Newberry. The Wolves' Harry Bolton was the top player at four-under with a 66. Tied for second were Adrian Villiger of Newberry and Henry Bryden of Queens at two-under.
The championship rolls on Monday with another round of play. Carson-Newman will hit the links at 9:15 a.m. with Collins starting things off for the team. Fans can follow along with action through live scoring every three holes.
