ALBANY, Ga. – No. 22/23 Carson-Newman went one-under through the first 36 holes of the Hurricane Invitation to sit at sixth with two players in the top 20 on Monday at the Doublegate Country Club.
The Eagles made a five-shot decline from the first round to the second, carding a 285 and 290, respectively. By the turn of the day, Carson-Newman was sitting at fifth at three-under. It heads into Tuesday as the last team still under par with a one-under 36-hole total of 575.
"Decent day for the Eagles today, but we can play much better," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "There's inclement weather forecasted for tomorrow so hopefully we will get a final round to try to make a charge. We have multiple players injured and sick so it's been a lot of adversity."
Tom Forster (Oundle, England) and Fergus Robinson (Towcester, England) were the only Eagles under par through Monday at five-under and two-under, respectively.
Forster leads the Eagles with a 139 through the first 36 holes. The senior started the day with a four-under morning round, highlighted by four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th. He was three shots higher in the afternoon with a 71 with four more birdies.
Heading into the final round, Forster is just three shots back of first-place and two shots shy of the top-three.
Robinson heads into the final round tied for 14th with a 142 total. He and Forster were the only Eagles to stay in the red during the morning thanks to four birdies on just a pair of bogeys. The junior scored an even 72 in the second round.
Both Fintan McKenna (Aberdeen, Scotland) and Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) landed in a tie for 38th by the end of Monday at three-over.
Mynatt's one-over morning included five birdies but he tacked on five holes of bogey or higher. In the second round, it was the sophomore's turn to card an eagle, coming on the par-five seventh hole. Aside from that, he shot for birdie just three more times before carding a 74 in the round to go three-over on the day.
McKenna took over the No. 3 spot for C-N in the event after Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) suffered a back injury that prevented him from playing this week. He was two-over in the morning thanks to a double-bogey on the par-3 16th. The senior followed his 74 with a one-shot improvement in the afternoon, adding on three more birdies but also a double-bogey.
Six shots behind the duo was Zach Young (Crossville, Tenn.), standing alone at 61st with a 153. The morning brought a six-over outing with seven holes of bogey or greater. He was three shots better in the second round, going for bogey on just four holes with one birdie.
With McKenna's move into the starting lineup, Ethan Rimmer (Knoxville, Tenn.) entered the field as the Eagles' individual for the week. His day was highlighted by a five-shot improvement from the first to second round to sit at 75th with a 13-over 157. He was nine-over in the morning with an 81 before carding a 76 in the afternoon.
Host team No. 1/2 Georgia Southwester leads the field through 36 holes at 21-under. Clayton State is six shots back with a 561 while Delta State sits in third with a 12-under 564.
GSW's Vincent Norman and Delta State's Zach Zediker share the top of the player leaderboard at eight-under. Clayton State's Augusto Oliva and GSW's Simon Estrada are both one shot behind, tied for third.
The tournament wraps up Tuesday with one final round of action. Live video coverage of holes 9 and 18 will be available, weather permitting, on the GSWAthletics YouTube channel. A recap of the day's events will hit cneagles.com once the 18 holes are completed.
