Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Raiders off to strong start in Puerto Rico
2/19/2017 1:17:00 PM | Men's Golf
Savoie, Thomas lead way
RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO – Middle Tennessee men's golf opened its spring season on Sunday with first round action at the Puerto Rico Classic. The Blue Raiders started strong with a 3-over par 291 on the 6,902-yard Rio Mar River Course for sixth place in the 15-team field.
A challenging tournament that consists of 11 top 50 teams, Georgia grabbed the first round lead with a 7-under, 281 total while NC State is second at 5-under par. Clemson is third at 4-under followed by Kentucky (1-under) and Ohio State (1-over).
Senior Joey Savoie and freshman Chip Thomas led the Blue Raiders on day one as both shot under par.
Savoie is tied for fourth after posting a 3-under par 69, while Thomas is tied for seventh with a 2-under 70. Savoie had five birdies on his round and Thomas matched him with five of his own. Savoie had four of his five birdies on the back while Thomas had four of his five on the front.
Freshman Ilari Saulo, the team's leader in stroke average during the fall, turned in a 74 and is tied for 37th. Saulo opened his round with three straight birdies, then played the final 14 holes at 5-over.
Marcus Byrd carded a 78 and is tied for 59th, while Hoyeong Kim recorded a 79 and is tied for 62nd.
As a team, MT ranked second in the field in par 3 scoring at 1-over par and was sixth in total birdies with 17.
The Blue Raiders will play round two beginning Monday morning. Follow all the live scoring at birdiefire.com.
A challenging tournament that consists of 11 top 50 teams, Georgia grabbed the first round lead with a 7-under, 281 total while NC State is second at 5-under par. Clemson is third at 4-under followed by Kentucky (1-under) and Ohio State (1-over).
Senior Joey Savoie and freshman Chip Thomas led the Blue Raiders on day one as both shot under par.
Savoie is tied for fourth after posting a 3-under par 69, while Thomas is tied for seventh with a 2-under 70. Savoie had five birdies on his round and Thomas matched him with five of his own. Savoie had four of his five birdies on the back while Thomas had four of his five on the front.
Freshman Ilari Saulo, the team's leader in stroke average during the fall, turned in a 74 and is tied for 37th. Saulo opened his round with three straight birdies, then played the final 14 holes at 5-over.
Marcus Byrd carded a 78 and is tied for 59th, while Hoyeong Kim recorded a 79 and is tied for 62nd.
As a team, MT ranked second in the field in par 3 scoring at 1-over par and was sixth in total birdies with 17.
The Blue Raiders will play round two beginning Monday morning. Follow all the live scoring at birdiefire.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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