Hokies 15th after first round in Puerto Rico

Sarit Suwannarut tied for 37th individually

February 19, 2017

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – The Virginia Tech men’s golf team shot an 18-over par 306 and is in 15^th place following the first round of the Puerto Rico Classic. The three-day event is being played at the par-72, 6,945 yard Rio Mar Beach and Spa Resort's River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Sarit Suwannarut, a freshman from Bangkok, Thailand, leads the Hokies. He shot an opening round 2-over 74 and is tied for 37^th place. He is seven strokes behind individual leader Stephen Franken of NC State.

Mark Lawrence, a sophomore from Richmond, Virginia, is tied for 45^th at 75 and Joey Lane, a senior from Great Falls, Virginia is tied for 57^th at 77. Blake Fiest, a sophomore from Huntersville, North Carolina, is tied for 66^th at 80 and Logan Yates, a sophomore from Ruckersville Virginia is tied for 71^st at 81.

Georgia holds the first round lead with a 7-under 281, two strokes ahead of NC State and three strokes ahead of Clemson. Kentucky is fourth at 286, Ohio State is fifth at 289, Middle Tennessee State is sixth at 291 and Ole Miss and Maryland are tied for seventh at 292. Georgia Tech and Northwestern are tied for ninth at 294, North Carolina and defending champion Alabama are tied for 11^th at 296, host Purdue is 13^th at 297 and UNC Greensboro is 14^th at 301, five strokes ahead of the Hokies.

The second round will be played on Monday and the final round will be played on Tuesday. Live stats will be available on Hokiesports.com, via a link from BirdieFire.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MGolf