MOBILE, Ala. - Middle Tennessee opened its spring season on Sunday at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate with a 293 on the par 72 Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course (7,212 yards). Overall, the 27th ranked Blue Raiders are tied for fourth in the 18-team field.
Being the first time out on a course in over three months, Head Coach Whit Turnbow is pleased to be within three shots of the lead.
"We were rusty as I expected we would be," said Turnbow. "But our seniors kept us in it all day. We made a bunch of unforced errors and yet we are only three shots back, so I would have to say we had a nice day.
"There is no way we would have been able to hang around today without our performance center. It really showed its value in the first round today."
Vanderbilt owns the lead after 18 holes with a 290 while Mississippi and Memphis are tied for second as both came away with a score of 291. Illinois State joins the Blue Raiders in fourth.
Kent Bulle leads all 102 players in the field with a 67 to equal his second-best career round. The senior recorded seven birdies and two bogeys for his 5-under par total.
Craig Smith carded a 73 to stand in a tie for 17th. The senior had two birdies with both coming on the back-nine.
Brad Simons recorded a 76 to tie for 44th while teammate Hunter Green fired a 77 to tie for 54th. Dane Voss, playing in his first collegiate tournament, had an 83 and is tied for 94th.
The Blue Raiders will play the second round beginning Monday morning at 8:18 AM before concluding the 54-hole event on Tuesday.
TEAM SCORES
1 Vanderbilt +2 F +2 290 290
T2 Mississippi, U. of +3 F +3 291 291
T2 Memphis, U. of +3 F +3 291 291
T4 Illinois State U. +5 F +5 293 293
T4 Middle Tennessee +5 F +5 293 293
6 South Alabama, U. of +7 F +7 295 295
7 Iowa State Univ. +8 F +8 296 296
8 Mississippi St. U. +9 F +9 297 297
9 Louisville, U. of +11 F +11 299 299
10 Kennesaw St. Univ. +12 F +12 300 300
11 Toledo +16 F +16 304 304
T12 Arkansas State U. +17 F +17 305 305
T12 So. Florida, U. of +17 F +17 305 305
14 Southern Mississippi +18 F +18 306 306
15 Kentucky, U. of +19 F +19 307 307
16 Akron, U. of +21 F +21 309 309
17 Belmont University +22 F +22 310 310
18 Jacksonville Univ. +24 F +24 312 312
MT SCORES
1 Kent Bulle 67
T17 Craig Smith 73
T44 Brad Simons 76
T54 Hunter Green 77
T94 Dane Voss 83
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