The Georgia Northwestern Bobcats, fresh off a fourth-place finish in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championships two weeks ago in Pennsylvania, finished up the first round of the Chick-fil-A Invitational in Rome, Ga., on Monday in a respectable ninth place.
Facing 12 other squads, including NCAA Division II and Division III schools, Georgia Northwestern carded a team score of 312 after the first 18 holes. Branton Bailey 76 paced the Bobcats with a 4-over par 76, followed by Lane Strickland with a 77, Adrian Clark with a 78 and Cole Roberts with an 81. David Manis' 87 did not count toward the team total.
The tournament, hosted by Berry College, is being played on the 6,736-yard layout at Stonebridge Golf Club.
Oglethorpe University leads the way with a 2-under par 286, followed by North Carolina Wesleyan at 294, Truett-McConnell at 296, Emory at 299 and Augsburg College with an even 300.
The rest of the standings include Birmingham Southern (305), Berry (307), Millsaps (311), Georgia Northwestern (312), Shorter (312), LaGrange (313), Covenant (316) and Oglethorpe's "B" squad (331).
Oglethorpe's Jacob Arnett sat atop the individual leaderboard with a 3-under par 69 in the opening round.
Teams were slated to have played 36 holes on Monday, but play had to be suspended due to darkness before players could finish their second round.
The Bobcats will tee off at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday and will complete the Round 2 before beginning their third and final round.
For more information on Georgia Northwestern Bobcat Athletics, visit our website at www.bobcatscountry.com.