by Loudon, Tenn. – Sophomore Aidan Tran shot a team-best 69 on Friday and 11th-ranked Georgia Tech moved into a tie for 10th place at 5 over par after the first round of the Visit Knoxville Collegiate.
The junior from Fresno, Calif., was the only Yellow Jacket to drop under par Friday, as 26 of the 92 players in the field did so on the par 70 at Tennessee National Golf Club. Tran is five shots back of the individual leader, while the Jackets (+5) are 17 shots off the pace of LSU (-12).
The second round of the 54-hole event will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, with Tran and the Yellow Jackets teeing off at 8:40 a.m. from the first tee.
TECH LINEUP — Tran, who played 54 holes and one match at the NCAA Championship last spring as Tech’s alternate, birdied three holes Friday, offsetting a double bogey, for his 69.
Meanwhile, defending NCAA champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) and freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) each shot 7-over-par 71s and are tied for 36th individually. Sophomore Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and junior Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, Netherlands) added 7-over-par 74s and are tied for 67th. Reuter played his first collegiate round in 18 months.
TEAM STANDINGS – With four players posting below-par rounds, LSU took the first-round lead at 12-under-par 268, one shot ahead of Ole Miss (11-under-par 269) and three ahead of South Carolina (9-under-par 271).
Charlotte and host Tennessee are tied for fourth, nine shots back at 3-under-par 277, followed by South Florida at 280, tied for par. The rest of the 16-team field is over par.
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS – USF’s Jake Peacock took the individual lead Friday by posting a bogey-free, 6-under-par 64, one stroke ahead of three golfers tied at 5-under-par 65s – LSU’s Matthew Dodd-Berry, Ole Miss’ Michael La Sasso and Tennessee’s Jackson Herrington.
Five golfers, led by the Tigers’ Algot Kleen, are tied for fifth at 4-under-par 66, with three tied at 3-under-par 67 and six others tied at 2-under-par 68.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Visit Knoxville Collegiate is being played for the second time and the Yellow Jackets are making their first appearance. Tennessee hosts the 16-team event, which runs 54 holes starting Friday and concluding Sunday at Tennessee National Golf Club, which plays to a par 70 and measures 7,280 yards.
Tee times for the second of three rounds begin at 8 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, and the final round at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
Participating teams are Charlotte, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, North Florida, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Tennessee (7), Tech (11) and Ole Miss (13) are among the top 25 teams in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches poll, while four other teams received votes.
