MILTON, G.A - Carson-Newman men's golf sits in first place on a cozy four stroke lead after one day of action at Atlanta National Golf Club thanks to Jonathan Nielsen's twelve stroke under par performance.
After one round, Nielsen sat comfortably on a score of 69. As he collected six total birdies in round one, the three stroke under par pefromance would give Nielsen a share of sixth place. The only real hiccup in round one for Nielsen would be a double bogey on hole eleven.
Jackson Tyler would record a 67 in round one, putting him five strokes under par. Tyler would record six total birdies in round one, but his top moment came on hole 16 as he eagled the par four hole. A stellar first round would put Tyler in sole possesion of first place as the first round came to a close.
Nielsen and Tyler would swap places in round two, as Nielsen would collect ten birdies to vault himself into first place. Nielsen's 63 in round two would put him twelve strokes under par for the day. The next closest golfer behind Nielsen is USC-Aiken's Leo Johansson, who sits at eight under par.
Tyler would ride momentum from his strong round one into round two. Tyler would shoot for par for the majority of round two, stumbling only a few times with bogeys on three holes. His 73 second round would only slide him five spots down the player leaderboard to sixth.
While coach Randy Wylie is pleased with what he saw today, he and the rest of the Eagles know the job is not done. "Fantastic rounds by the guys today," Wylie said. "We had a really fine finish for the first 36 holes. Now we still have plenty work to do tomorrow. This is a tough course and a great field, we will need to bring our A game."
Will Collins was able to shoot for par for most of the day, slipping one stroke above par in the final round with back to back bogeys on holes 12 and 13. However, three birdies would allow Collins to rebound and finish in a tie for 26th after day one.
Elliot MacGregor would finish day one in a tie for 57th with a grand total of 149, and Jake Mynatt would finish with a share of 77th after shooting a 154 on the day.
Nielsen and company look to hold on to their first place spot tomorrow and bring home their second consecutive tournament victory.
Live scoring can be found on GolfStat, and a full recap will be on cneagles.com.
