Live scoring | Round 1 Results | Round 2 tee times (PDF) | Schenkel Web site
STATESBORO, Ga. – Ben Stone and Kramer Hickok each carded a 4-under-par 68, and Texas finished the day with an 8-under 280 to lead the 34th Annual Schenkel Invitational after first-round action Friday at Forest Heights Country Club.
Stone was bogey free and posted four birdies, while Hickok collected six birdies and two bogies. Both Longhorns are tied for second behind Alabama's Justin Thomas, who carded a 5-under 67 and birdied his final hole to take sole possession of the lead.
Central Florida's Jose Joia played his last nine at 4-under to tie for second with a 68, and Vanderbilt's Charlie Ewing birdied two of his last three holes to join the foursome in second place.
Texas has a two-stroke lead over defending Schenkel champion Alabama (-6), and Florida (-3) is in third. Central Florida (+3) is fourth, followed by UAB (+4) and Vanderbilt (+4) in the top five.
Georgia Southern is tied for 11th (+9) with College of Charleston and Notre Dame, a stroke behind North Texas (+8) and Maryland (+8).
"We made a few too many mistakes to get a really good round in," said Georgia Southern coach Larry Mays.
"We just need to clean it up a little bit tomorrow to move up the scoreboard. We didn't feel like we played our best round, but it's encouraging that we're just a few shots out of the top-5."
Scott Wolfes led the Eagles with a 2-under 70 after pocketing birdies on his last three holes and is tied for sixth.
"Scott had a great finish to his round to help us salvage our day," said Mays. "He continues to lead our team and hopefully, he can keep it going."
Charlie Martin shot a 74, and Blake Olson carded a 76. Will Evans finished with a 77, and Hayden Anderson carded a 79.
Matt Mierzejewski, who played as an individual, finished with an even-par 72 and is tied for 17th. The sophomore started on hole 10 and was 5-under through his first 10 holes and alone atop the leaderboard at one point during the day.
Caleb Morris, who is also playing as an individual, is tied for 21st after carding a 73. Christian Humber finished with an 81.
"It's nice to see Matt and Caleb put up solid rounds today as individuals in front of the home crowd," said Mays.
Action continues tomorrow with tee times starting at 9 a.m.
About the Schenkel
The Schenkel Invitational is named after Hall of Fame sports broadcaster Chris Schenkel. Schenkel, who was the first to cover The Masters on television, the first to anchor a live telecast of the Olympics and to call a nationally broadcast college football game, helped lend his name to a tournament that has grown into one of the premier collegiate golf tournaments in the nation. He grew familiar with Statesboro by spending nine months in a language institute at Georgia Teachers College (now known as Georgia Southern University) as part of his duties with the U.S. Army during World War II.
The lending of Schenkel's name and contacts helped the tournament get started in 1971 and annually attracts an elite field from across the country. The tournament has attracted 68 different schools from 25 states and the nation's capital. Current and past PGA pros Curtis Strange, David Toms, Scott Verplank, Hal Sutton, Jodie Mudd, Luke Donald, Lucas Glover, Bill Haas and Bubba Watson have competed in the Schenkel.
Through the years, six teams and three players have won the tournament en route to capturing the NCAA team and individual titles. Florida (1973), Wake Forest (1974, 1986) and Oklahoma State (1980, 1983, 1987) won both team titles. Curtis Strange and Gary Halberg, both from Wake Forest, won the tournament and NCAA Championship in 1974 and 1979, respectively. Matt Hill of N.C. State was the most recent golfer to accomplish the feat, winning both titles in 2009.
Six U.S. Open, four PGA, two British Open and one Masters titles are among the major wins by individuals who posted a top-10 finish at the Schenkel Invitational during their collegiate careers.
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