Senators sit in ninth after opening round of Chick-fil-A Collegiate

ROME, Ga. — The Walters State golf team opened its fall season finale Monday afternoon by posting a team score of 304 at Stonebridge Golf Club to sit in ninth place after one round of the Chick-fil-A Collegiate Invitational.

The tournament, consisting of 16 four-year schools and three junior college teams, is led by Central Alabama with a team score of 2-under par 286 on the day. Berry is second at 291, followed by Emory (298), Berry B (299), Huntingdon (299), Birmingham Southern (300), Covenant (303), Oglethorpe (303), Walters State (304) and LaGrange (305) in the top 10.

Shorter sits in 11th at 306, followed by Maryville (307), Piedmont (310), Sewanee (312), Augsburg (313), York (315), Milsaps (325), Belhaven (331) and Cleveland State (344) in the 19-team field.

Elliott Smith and Andrew Linkous led the Senators, as both posted a 1-over par 73 to tied for 11th place, but both could have put up better scores.

Smith shot 1-over par 37 on the back-nine, and was looking at a possible sub-70 round entering the final two holes before posting a double bogey on the 201-yard par-3 eighth hole and a bogey on the 532-yard par-5 ninth to finish with a 73.

Linkous turned with a 1-under 35 on the back-nine before posting four bogeys and two birdies on the front side for a 38 to end up with his 73.

Stephen Owen and Alex Hodge both shot 79 to tie for 56th place on the day to close out the team scoring, with Hunter Blanken recording an 80 on the day to end up in a tie for 65th place.

Owen shot 6-over 42 on his opening nine holes before putting together a front-nine score of 37 with four bogeys and three birdies. Hodge opened with a 2-over par 38 on the back-nine before posting a 41 on the front, and Blanken scored a 41 on the back side before putting up a 39 on the front.

Central Alabama's Noah Dennis holds the individual lead after 18 holes after posting a 5-under par 67 on the day.

The final round of the tournament will be played Tuesday morning.