Led by a 3-under 69 from senior Ashton Poole, the Georgia State men’s golf team stands in a tie for ninth following the first round of the Marquette Intercollegiate at historic Erin Hills Golf Club.
Poole sits alone in second-place at 3-under par and just one stroke off the lead. Only four golfers broke par on Sunday on the course that hosted the 2017 U.S. Open Championship.
The Panthers opened play with a 13-over 301 but are just five strokes out of third place and only nine off the lead held by UCLA with 36 holes to play.
“Our guys really fought hard all day on a very tough golf course,” head coach Chad Wilson. “Ashton’s round was one of the most impressive rounds of college golf I have seen. This course just doesn’t give up many birdies and for him to put together a round like that shows the caliber of golf he is playing.”
Senior Josh Edgar added a 2-over 74 and is tied for 19th after the first round. Senior Egill Gunnarsson and sophomore David Li are tied for 51st at 7-over par following rounds of 79, while senior Severin Soller round out the line-up with a 14-over 86 and stands 71st.
UCLA leads the 12-team field at 4-over par following an opening round 292. Defending champion Northwestern is in second-place at 6-over par, with South Florida in third-place at 8-over par. Liberty is in fourth-place at 9-over par, while Miami (Ohio) rounds out the top five at 11-over par.
Liberty’s Alexandre Fuchs leads the field at 4-under par following a 68 on Sunday. Poole is in second place at 3-under, with Marquette’s Hunter Eichhorn in third-place at 2-under par. Northwestern’s David Nyfjall is in fourth-place at 1-under par, followed by four golfers tied for fifth-place at even par.
Live scoring can be found throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com. Fans can follow @GaStateGolf on Twitter for updates during the event.
Georgia State will be paired with host Marquette and Ball State for Round 2 going off Hole No. 10 beginning at 10:50 a.m. ET.
Following this week’s tournament, the Panthers will return to the course Oct. 14-15, hosting the Autotrader Collegiate Classic at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth