Blue Raiders grab share of lead on day one

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Middle Tennessee shot a 298 on the opening day of the 2012 Sun Belt Conference men’s golf championships to grab a share of the lead. The No. 47 Blue Raiders are tied with No. 27 North Texas at 10-over par on the 7,371-yard, par 72 Fighting Joe Course.

South Alabama is in third with a 306 total followed by UALR in fourth (308), and Louisiana-Lafayette (311) in fifth.

“The golf course won today,” said Head Coach Whit Turnbow. “We battled all day long and got off to a good start which really helped. It was tough but we are in good position.”

Senior Brad Simons carded a 1-over par 73 to lead the Blue Raiders on day one. Simons, who had five birdies on the day, is tied for second overall.

Sophomores Brett Patterson and Jordan Jennings are both tied for fourth after putting up a 74. Patterson was consistent with 14 pars and a birdie, while Jennings continued his strong late season play.

Senior Hunter Green, the league’s leader in scoring average, tallied a 77 and is tied for 16th. Freshman Andrew Cho, playing in his first SBC tournament, completed the scoring with an 84.

The Blue Raiders will begin round two of the 54-hole event on Tuesday morning.

TEAM SCORES
T1 North Texas +10 F +10 298 298
T1 Middle Tennessee +10 F +10 298 298
3 South Alabama +18 F +18 306 306
4 Arkansas-Little Rock +20 F +20 308 308
5 Louisiana-Lafayette +23 F +23 311 311
6 Arkansas State +26 F +26 314 314
7 Florida Atlantic +28 F +28 316 316
8 Troy +29 F +29 317 317
T9 Denver +33 F +33 321 321
T9 Western Kentucky U. +33 F +33 321 321
11 Louisiana-Monroe +39 F +39 327 327

MT SCORES
T2 Brad Simons (3) 73 73
T4 Brett Patterson (2) 74 74
T4 Jordan Jennings (4) 74 74
T16 Hunter Green (1) 77 77
T45 Andrew Cho (5) 84 84

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