ALBANY, Ga. – Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) used a 4-under day that was good enough for a share of second-place helped Carson-Newman into a tie for fourth through the first two rounds of the Hurricane Invitational on Monday.
The senior carded back-to-back 70s on Monday to hold a 140 that sets him just one shot out of the lead. He was one of just six golfers in the entire field to card an eagle in the opening day, shooting it on the par-5 seventh-hole in the first round.
All-told, C-N tied for the third-best showing on par-3 holes with an 8-over 3.20 clip and 26 birdies. It went into the clubhouse sitting at 7-over-par with 292-291 rounds for a 583 total. By the end of the first round, Carson-Newman was slotted at second with a four-over 292, just four shots shy of Lander.
The Eagles head into Tuesday's final round eight shots back of the lead and one-shot shy of the top three.
"Really solid start to the season for Alex Hodge," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "The rest of the guys did not play their best, but we're in a position where we could have a great finish tomorrow. We really like the golf course and we hope we got the rust off today and can play to our potential tomorrow."
Hodge shot for birdie seven times on Monday with five of those coming in the second round alone. Those birdies and the eagle overshadowed his five bogeys on the day. He was the only Eagle to land in the top 20 after Monday.
Seven shots behind Hodge is Will Collins (Knoxville, Tenn.), who went 3-over-par through the first two rounds with a 147 to land a share of 22nd. In the morning round, the junior went 2-over with a 74. He bogeyed four holes with a pair of birdies down the stretch before heading into the second round. He shaved one shot off of his score in the afternoon with a 73, adding on six bogeys and five birdies.
Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) ended Monday trailing Collins by one stroke, tied for 28th with a 148. He closed the front nine of the first round with a triple-bogey but made up ground with a pair of birdies for a 1-over 73. In the second round, the junior did not see a shot under par, shooting for par on 15 holes with a trio of bogeys for a 75.
Playing in his first tournament since the 2018-19 season, Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) went 6-over-par on Monday with a pair of 75 rounds, giving him a 150 that was good enough tie for 41st. Three of his four birdies through the first 36 holes came in the second round. The senior shot for bogey or higher on nine holes throughout the day.
Alec Lambert (Palm Harbor, Fla.) saw the biggest improvement between rounds among all Eagles, tying for 79th on a 15-over 159. The redshirt-freshman was 14-over-par in the morning, going for par or better on just seven holes in the round. He had a pair of double bogeys and a triple bogey in the back nine for the first 18 holes. He made a major rebound in the second round, shaving 13 strokes off of his opening round score for a 1-over 73 in the final round of the day. He shot for birdie four times with just three bogeys and a double bogey.
Clayton State leads the field with a 1-under 575. The Lakers had the lowest single round score among all the teams throughout the entire day with a 282 in the final round. Lander sits at second with a 1-over 577. North Georgia is third at 6-over while C-N and hosting Georgia Southwestern round out the top-five in a stalemate for fourth.
On the player side, Montevallo's Paul Murphy leads at 5-under with a 139 through 36 rounds. Hodge and Lander's Maxime Logros in second are closely followed by North Georgia's Noah Zediker and Laner's Linus Jonsson who are tied for fourth at 3-under.
The Invitational wraps up on Tuesday with one final round of play beginning at 8 a.m. Live scoring will once again be available via Golfstat.
