WHEELING, W.Va. – Denison men's golf began their national title journey on Tuesday afternoon as the Big Red opened with the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship at the Oglebay Golf Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia. Opening the tournament on the par-71 Speidel Jones Course, the Big Red totaled a team score of 305, putting them in a tie for 12
th place with Otterbein and Sewanee. Leading the way after the first 18 holes is Illinois Wesleyan who posted a day-one score of 290 (+6) on the Speidel Jones Course.
The Big Red are currently led by junior
Marc Mitchell who carded a one-over-par score of 72 through the first 18 holes of the tourney. After beginning the day shooting for even par on the front nine, Mitchell hit for par on the final seven holes of the back nine to enter the second round in a tie for eighth place.
Led by a pair of birdies on holes nine and 15, fellow junior
Ben Scherman finished Tuesday's opening round with a score of 75 (+4) to sit in a tie for 36
th overall.
Senior
Will Grady currently trails Scherman by three strokes after a birdie on the fourth hole and five pars on the back nine landed him in a tie for 82
nd with an 18-hole score of 78 (+7). Sophomore
Sam Davis opened the front nine with birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, giving him a +3 through the first nine holes of the day. On the back nine, Davis birdied the 10
th hole and hit for par on holes 14 and 16 to end the day with a first-round score of 80 (+9).
Denison's first round was closed out by sophomore
Jesse Felker after he carded seven pars through the first 18 holes to finish with a day-one score of 83 (+12).
The Big Red will return to Oglebay on Wednesday, May 12 for the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship. Denison will play their second round on Oglebay's Palmer Course with tee times running from 12:30 p.m. until 1:10 p.m.
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