JEKYLL ISLAND, GA – In what is arguably the toughest field in the Division III golf regular season slate, the University of Rochester golf team sits in the middle of a loaded leaderboard at the Jekyll Island Invitational at the King and Prince Golf Course at Jekyll Island Golf Club on Friday afternoon.
 
Rochester, ranked #24 in the latest Division III golf coaches poll announced Friday morning, is one of 15 ranked teams from the top-25 in the 30-team field. The field includes the top-7 teams in Division III and nine of the top-11.
 
Overall on day one, Rochester compiled a team score of 302 (+18) on the par-71, 6,515-yard layout at King and Prince Golf Course. That team score has Rochester in a tie for 16th place with #18 Kenyon College and #25 Hampden-Sydney College.
 
Rhodes College holds the day one lead after shooting an even-par round of 284, with #7 Lynchburg (289) and #11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (291) rounding out the top-3.
 
UR senior Tom Liu leads the Yellowjackets after the opening round, sitting inside the top-10 on the individual leaderboard after carding an even-par 71. Liu opened his round with a birdie on the par-4 tenth hole and ended his opening nine with another birdie to sit at 1-under par. On his final nine holes (the front nine), Liu carded another birdie on the fifth hole to go with a pair of bogeys to end at event.
 
First-year Shibo Wang carded a round of 75 (4-over) on Friday to rank as UR's second best scorer. He is tied for 50th in the individual tournament that features 150 total golfers. Wang's card featured 13 pars and a birdie on the par-4, second hole.
 
Also breaking 80 for the Yellowjackets were sophomore Josh Pethel and senior Kerry Wang. Pethel shot an opening round 77 (6-over), while Wang had a 79 (8-over). Both golfers were solid on their final nine holes, with Pethel being even and Wang shooting 1-over during that stretch.
 
Pethel is tied for 76th, while Wang is just outside the top-100 after day one.
 
UR's final golfer was Brendan Frain who shot an 81 during his Friday round. The grad student had one birdie in his round, coming on the par-5, 18th hole.
 
The Jekyll Island Invitational runs through Sunday, with the event being a three-round, 54-hole tournament.