Franklin, Tenn. - The Georgia State men's golf team opened the 2012-13 season tied for fifth following a first round 5-over, 289, in the Mason Rudolph Championship at The Legends in Nashville, Tenn. Freshman Jonathan Grey, making his collegiate debut, fired a 2-under 69 to lead the Panthers.
Making their third straight appearance in the season opening event, the Panthers stand just nine strokes off the lead and four strokes out of second place entering the weekend.
Grey, from Kent, England, finished his impressive round with five birdies, including a stretch of three in four holes during this second nine, shooting nine's of 34 and 35. He is currently tied for sixth with 36 holes to play over the weekend.
"I am really proud of the way the team opened the season," commented fifth-year head coach Joe Inman. "Everyone stayed within themselves and played hard until the end. Hopefully this gives us some momentum heading into the weekend.
"I was very impressed with Jonathan's play today. Freshman can often get first-tee nervousness, but he started well and then had a very nice run of birdies on his second nine."
Junior Tyler Gruca shot a 1-over par 72 to stand tied for 25th following the first round. Gruca birdied two of his first three holes and got to 1-under before a pair of bogeys on his second nine dropped him to 1-over.
Newcomer Kevin Lee, who transferred from the University of Oklahoma and is from nearby Dacula, Ga., opened play with a 2-over 73 and stands in a tie for 33rd.
Sophomore Davin White finished with a 4-over, 75, following a round that saw him make four birdies, but unfortunately also two double bogeys. He stands tied for 52nd entering Saturday's second round.
Junior Grant Cagle rounded out the Panthers line-up with an opening day 6-over 77 and is currently tied for 71st.
Oklahoma finished strong, making seven birdies over the final three holes to take the lead at 4-under after 18 holes. The Sooners lead Ole Miss and College of Charleston by five strokes as the two schools shot identical 1-over 285's. Host Vanderbilt stands alone in fourth at 2-over.
Virginia's Denny McCarthy leads following an opening round 4-under 67. There is a four-way tie for second at 3-under which includes Oklahoma's Abraham Ancer, Georgia Southern's Charlie Martin and a pair from the College of Charleston, John Duke Hudson and Zach Munroe.
The 15-team field will continue play on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. off both the first and tenth tees. Live scoring can be found throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com.
This marks the 12th time the tournament has been competed in its current format. Georgia State's name appears throughout the record book, running away with the title in 2004 when Ty Harris set the tournament scoring record at 18-under after shooting the lowest round in tournament history, a 63, during the first round. The Panthers won the tournament by 20 strokes, as Harris recorded an 11-stroke victory.
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