MARVIN, N.C. - Freshman Alex Merriman carded four birdies on the day and shares seventh place as the Anderson University men's golf team sits in 11th place following Monday's opening round of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Championship at the par-72, 6904-yard Firethorne Country Club.
After seeing Sunday's first round washed away due to the wet weather, Tusculum is bidding for its first-ever SAC Championship after posting an opening-round 295. Wingate (301) is six shots further back, while Queens is in third after carding a team-total 302. Lincoln Memorial (305) is holding the fourth spot, with Newberry (308) and Coker (308) tied for fifth.
Mars Hill (310), Brevard (314), Lenoir-Rhyne (315), Catawba (319), Anderson (320) and defending champion Carson-Newman round out the 12-team field.
Tusculum's Nick Forsberg (70), the lone golfer to post a below-par score on the day, leads the individual medalist chase by two shots over the Wingate duo of Benedict Gebhardt (72) and Philip Konnikov (72). Ten additional golfers, including Merriman, are within five shots of the lead.
Merriman's first-round featured the four birdies and 10 pars, as he posted a 3-over-par 75 on the day. Senior CJ Messana shares the 39th spot after carding an 8-over-par 80, while freshman Forrest Fowler is two shots further back in 51st after a first-round 82. Junior David Wachter carded an 83 and sits in a tie for 54th, with sophomore Payton Whitlock notching an opening-round 87 and is tied for 58th.
The tournament is slated to wrap up with 18 holes on Tuesday.
Pos. School Rnd 1 Total To Par
1 Tusculum 295 295 +7
2 Wingate 301 301 +13
3 Queens-Cha 302 302 +14
4 LMU 305 305 +17
5 Newberry 308 308 +20
Coker College 308 308 +20
7 Mars Hill 310 310 +22
8 Brevard 314 314 +26
9 Len.-Rhyne 315 315 +27
10 Catawba 319 319 +31
11 Anderson 320 320 +32
12 Carson-Newman 322 322 +34
11 Anderson (SC) 320 320 +32
T 7 Alex Merriman 75 75 +3
T 39 C.J. Messana 80 80 +8
T 51 Forrest Fowler 82 82 +10
T 54 David Wachter 83 83 +11
T 58 Payton Whitlock 87 87 +15
