ALBANY, Ga. - After falling down as low as fifth overall, the Eagles rallied to sit at first after day one of the Hurricane Invitational.
Carson-Newman sat at second after shooting a two-under 286 in the first round. The Eagles struggled early in the second round, recording 13 bogeys on the front-nine and falling to fifth overall. The convocation rallied on the back-nine, carding 18 birdies, including five straight by Jake Mynatt. C-N finished the second round with a four-under 284 and an overall score of 570 and six-under.
"We played well this morning and then had a terrible nine holes to start the afternoon," says Director of Golf Randy Wylie. "We had a great nine holes to finish the afternoon strong but it was kind of a weird day. Overall, we're in first by one shot and will look to wrap up the win tomorrow."
As a group, the Eagles finished in a four-way tie for the best score on par fives, recording a 13-under and an average score of 4.68. Carson-Newman carded the most birdies in the first two rounds, carding 35 total. The Eagles carded one namesake stroke today, with Mynatt carding an eagle in the first round on the par five fourth hole.
Jonathan Nielsen leads Carson-Newman, sitting tied for second place individually. Nielsen shot a five-under 67 for the second time this season in the first round before shooting an even 72 to finish day one with a five-under 139. Nielsen finished day one with the second best score on par fours, shooting two-under with an average score of 2.75. He also carded the second most birdies on the day with 10.
Will Collins moved up the leader board in the second round to sit tied for 13th. After shooting a two-over 74, Collins carded a nice three-under 69 to finish the day with a one-under 143. The second round was Collins' first 69 round since the final round of the Cougar Invitational.
Alex Hodge is now tied for 16th after shooting an even-par 144 in the first two rounds. Hodge finished the first round with a one-under 71 before finishing the second round with a one-over 73.
Mynatt's big second round helped vault the Eagles to first and himself to a tie for 27th. After recording a four-over 76 in round one, Mynatt recorded five straight birdies on the back-nine to card a two-under 70 in round two for a total score of a two-over 146. Mynatt is also tied for the third best score on par fives today, recording a score of four-under and an average score of 4.50.
Jackson Tyler rounds out the convocation, tied for 54th after shooting a six-over 150. Tyler shot a two-over 74 in round one and a four-over 76 in the second round.
"I'm really proud of how Jonathan did today," says Wylie. "He struggled this afternoon but bounced back with a solid final nine. And Jake woke up with a neck and shoulder injury and then hurt his wrist during the second round and was somehow able to record five birdies in a row. That's an incredibly gutsy performance by him."
The Eagles will look to clinch their second win of the season and first of the spring when the Hurricane Invitational concludes tomorrow. Fans can follow along with live results here and with a livestream of two holes on the PBC Network here.
