TAZEWELL, Tenn. – A 6-under opening round helped No. 21/22 Carson-Newman to head into the clubhouse at 3-under, good enough for fourth after the first day of the South Atlantic Conference Championship at the Woodlake Golf Club.
C-N pieced together rounds of 282 and 291 to hold a 573 total through the first 36 holes. It was second by the end of the opening round with a six-under 282, matching its lowest single-round score at the event set by the 2003 squad in its second round. Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) leads the Orange and Blue, sitting in a tie for third and nine shots back of the lead.
"Big day for the Eagles tomorrow," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "We had a very solid first round followed by a mediocre second round. Jake Mynatt had a really solid day. We had some tournaments this year where we closed really strong in the final round and we have to do that tomorrow."
Wylie's group heads into the final round 12 shots out of first at just four shots out of the top three. In the first 36 holes, C-N was the second-best par-3 scoring team with a 3.03 average at 1-over and had the second-most birdies at 38.
All five Eagles in the top 20 through the first 18 holes of the day with Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Mynatt leading the team as the only Eagles in the top five after rounds of 69. Both Mynatt and Will Collins (Knoxville, Tenn.) were in a seven-way tie for the best par-3 showing through Monday at 1-under.
Mynatt's 4-under Monday was marked by nine birdies and just five bogeys. He followed up his opening-round 69 with a 71 for a 140. In three-round events this season, he was just three strokes away from matching his best score through the first two rounds when he fired a 137 at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate.
Three shots behind Mynatt after Monday was Hodge, standing alone at eighth with a 1-under 143. He was 3-under through the first round with a 69 before adding on five shots in the second round for a 74. He was under par on nine holes throughout the entire day, five of those on par-5s including an eagle on the 17th in the second round.
Checking in tied for 14th was Jonathan Nielsen (Hørsholm, Denmark) after a 1-over 145. He was even for par with a 72 in the first round before adding on a shot in the second round with a 73. Like Mynatt, he fired a team-high nine birdies the round, five coming on par-4 holes. He did add on seven holes that went over par, including a double-bogey and a triple bogey.
One-shot behind the freshman was Collins, tied for 19th on a 2-over 146. He carded back-to-back rounds of 73 on Monday, mirroring the rounds with three birdies and four bogeys in each.
Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) was 3-over after Monday, tied for 22nd. He shot an even 72 in the morning before posting a 3-over 75 in the afternoon for a 147. His six birdies were covered by eight holes that went over par, seven of those being bogeys. The 72 matched the lowest single round he has scored at the SAC Championship in his career. The last time he did so was in the final round of the 2018 title-winning outing.
No. 5/2 Lincoln Memorial, the event's host, leads the field at 15-under. Queens and Limestone trail in second and third, respectively, at 11 and 7-under.
The Railsplitters also lead the player board with Dan Bradbury at the top after a 13-under day. His teammate Luke Harries was 7-under to sit at second. Mynatt is in a three-way tie for third with Limestone's Cage Carnes and Queens' Clayson Good.
The championship wraps up on Tuesday with one final round of action. C-N will start its day at 9:20 a.m. when Jackson Tyler heads to the first tee. Live scoring will once again be available through BirdieFire.
