Tennessee Leads First Round of Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational

STATESBORO, Ga. - No. 8 Tennessee holds a three-stroke, first-round lead over runner up Alabama, Friday (Mar. 14) at the 29th Annual Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational played at the par-72 6,962-yard Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga.

Among a field of 18 schools, with seven ranked in the nation's top-25 (Golfweek), the Volunteers finished the first of three rounds shooting a 6-under 282 to take a three-shot lead over No. 2 Alabama (-3). In addition to Tennessee and Alabama, three other teams will begin day two with below-par scores, including No. 20 South Carolina and No. 29 UAB tied for third place at 2-under, and No. 48 LSU sitting in 5th place at 1-under.

Three individuals lead the pack tied for first, namely Mark Anderson (South Carolina), Clayton Rotz (LSU) and Zach Sucher (UAB) shooting a 4-under 68 on the day. Anderson was the lone individual to shoot a double-eagle, reaching the par-5, seventh hole in two strokes.

Georgia Southern finished up the first day shooting a 13-over 301, ahead of No. 46 North Florida, New Mexico, Minnesota and Boston College. The Eagles were paced by freshman Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.) tying for 23rd place after carding a team best 1-over 73.

Host school GSU got off to a good start on the first nine, shooting 10 birdies as a team, plus an eagle on hole seven by junior Drew Lethem (Camdenton, Mo.). But the back nine proved to be more challenging.

“Today we played a half round,” said Georgia Southern head coach Larry Mays. “We played really well on the front, but fell apart in the back. We want to come back tomorrow and play a complete round. Obviously we're disappointed in the way we finished today so we're looking to come out tomorrow and redeem ourselves.”

Golfers will tee off for second round action first thing Saturday at 8:40 a.m. Georgia Southern will start off on the 10th tee at 9:27 a.m.

Fans can follow the action on-line with the latest statistics and results at www.Golfstat.com. For more information on each participating school, the course and more, visit www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com, go to the golf page, and then click on the tournament central ad.

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