GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Virginia Tech golf team shot an opening-round eight-under-par 280 and holds a four stroke lead after the first day of the 44th Annual Furman Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club in Greenville, S.C., on Friday.
The Hokies opened play on the back nine on Friday and were three-over-par at the turn, but posted a blistering 11-under-par on the front nine, their second nine holes of the day, to come in with the 280. As a team, the Hokies managed just three sub-par holes on their first nine holes of the day, but then posted 15 sub-par holes on their second nine holes, including a par of eagles by junior Bryce Chalkley (Richmond, Va.).
Sophomore Trevor Cone (Concord, N.C.) shot an opening round four-under-par 68 and is tied for the lead. Cone is tied with MJ Maguire of North Florida, J.T. Poston of Western Carolina and Jake Tucker of Troy are all tied for the lead.
Chalkley is tied for fifth place after firing a 69 on Friday and senior Mikey Moyers (Stanardsville, Va.) is tied for 10th after posting a 71 in the first round. Sophomore Scott Vincent (Harare, Zimbabwe) is tied for 17th at 72 and freshman Maclain Huge (Lovettesville, Va.) is tied for 97th after shooting a 79 on Friday.
Tech has three individuals competing in this event, as well. Sophomore Miles Curley (Rock Hill, S.C.) is tied for 72nd place at 77, redshirt junior Jacob Everts (Ooltewah, Tenn.) is tied for 114th at 81 and redshirt junior Marc MacDonald (Harare, Zimbabwe) is in125th place at 87.
The Hokies' 280 is four strokes ahead of North Florida and five strokes ahead of Winthrop. Western Carolina is fourth at 287, Chattanooga is fifth at 290, Iowa State is sixth at 292 and Troy and Purdue are tied for seventh at 293. Gardner-Webb is ninth at 294, East Tennessee State is 10th at 295, Wofford is 11th at 296 and Samford is 12th at 297. Nine more teams are competing in the event and all nine posted scores of 10-over-par 298 or higher.
The second round will be played on Saturday and the final round on Sunday morning. Live stats will be availble on hokiesports.com, www.FurmanPaladins.com and GolfStatResults.com.
For updates on Virginia Tech golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MGolf).