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Loudon, Tenn. – Sophomore Aidan Tran shot a team-best 1-under-par 69 Friday, and 11th-ranked Georgia Tech is in a tie for 10th place at 5-over-par following the opening round of the Visit Knoxville Collegiate.
The junior from Fresno, Calif., was the only Yellow Jacket to break par Friday on a day when 26 of the 92 players in the field did so at the par-70 Tennessee National Golf Club. Tran is five strokes off the individual lead, while the Jackets (+5) are 17 strokes off the pace of LSU (-12).
Round 2 of the 54-hole event gets underway at 8 a.m. Saturday, with Tran and the Yellow Jackets set to tee off at 8:40 a.m. from the first tee.
TECH LINEUP – Tran, who played 54 holes and one match at the NCAA Championship last spring as Tech’s alternate player, birdied three holes Friday, offset by a double-bogey, for his 69.
Meanwhile, reigning NCAA Champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) and freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) each shot 1-over-par 71 and are tied for 36th place individually. Sophomore Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and redshirt junior Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) added 4-over-par 74s and are tied for 67th place. Reuter played his first collegiate round in 18 months.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – With four players posting subpar rounds, LSU took the opening-round lead at 12-under-par 268, one shot better than Ole Miss (11-under-par 269) and three ahead of South Carolina (9-under-par 271).
Charlotte and host Tennessee are tied for fourth place, nine shots off the lead at 3-under-par 277, followed by South Florida at even-par 280. The rest of the 16-team field is over par.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – USF’s Jake Peacock grabbed the individual lead Friday by posting a bogey-free 6-under-par 64, one stroke ahead of three golfers tied at 5-under-par 65 – Matthew Dodd-Berry of LSU, Michael La Sasso of Ole Miss and Jackson Herrington of Tennessee.
Five golfers, led by the Tigers’ Algot Kleen, are tied for fifth place at 4-under-par 66, with three tied at 3-under-par 67 and six more tied at 2-under-par 68.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Visit Knoxville Collegiate is being held for the second time, and the Yellow Jackets are making their first appearance. Tennessee hosts the 16-team event, which is being contested over 54 holes beginning Friday and concluding Sunday at Tennessee National Golf Club, which plays to a par-70 and measures 7,280 yards.
Tee times for the second of three rounds begin at 8 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, with the final round at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
Participating teams include Charlotte, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, North Florida, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Tennessee (7), Tech (11) and Ole Miss (13) are listed among the top 25 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, while four other teams received votes.