ANDERSON, S.C. - Led by junior David Wachter's 3-over-par 75, the Anderson men's golf team is in seventh place following Monday's opening-round action at the AU Invitational, hosted at the Cobb's Glen par-72, 7,005-yard layout.
"I am a little disappointed,' said Anderson head coach Danny Neal. "I expected us to play better. David [Wachter] had a solid round and is in a great spot, but a few others were not up to par, so to speak. We are hoping we can come back tomorrow, shoot better and see what some of the other teams do."
Milligan, which finished a runner-up a year ago, leads the tourney after notching a team total 13-over-par 301. Queens is two shots further back after a 303, while both Erskine teams are tied for third after posting 17-over-par 305s on the day. Fellow South Atlantic Conference-member Catawba sits in fifth following a 307, while Spartanburg Methodist (317) and AU (319), round out the seven-team field.
Queens senior Jake McLaren leads the tourney following his 1-over-par 73, while Milligan's Cody Johnson and Mitchell Sutton are tied for second, along with Erskine's Nick Karageotgos after carding 2-over-par 74s. The trio leads 19 golfers who are within four shots of the lead.
Wachter fired a pair of birdies to go along with 12 pars to keep pace and share fifth, just two strokes behind McLaren. Newcomer Mitch Darley, playing as an individual, carded an 8-over-par 80 to share 27th, while senior CJ Messana (82) is alone in 33rd. Another pair of newcomers, Ryan Kincaid (83) and Alex Merriman (84) are 34th and 36th, respectively. Sophomore Rob Warren posted a 13-over-par 85 and sits in 37, just ahead of Payton Whitlock (86) and Alex Charping (86), who are tied for 38th.
Tuesday's final round will feature a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
