PINEHURST, NC – The 12th-ranked University of Rochester men's golf team sits in 11th place, and just one stroke back of 10th, following the first two rounds of play on day one of Hampden-Sydney's Tiger Invitational at the Forest Creek Golf Club.
 
The 20 competing squads played 36 holes on the opening day of the Tiger Invitational, with 18 more holes to come on the second day of competition. The loaded field features the top four, seven of the top 10 and 11 of the top 25 of the most recent Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches Poll, with another five competing teams also having received votes in the March 6 poll.
 
First-year Anderson Palm leads the Yellowjackets after the first 36 holes, sitting tied for 11th overall at one-under-par. Palm carded an even-par in the opening round of competition, tallying four birdies, two each on the front and back nine, and then finished one-under over the next 18 holes, shooting a 71 on the par-72 course, tallying five birdies, including three on the front nine.
 
Junior Arjun Aujla is Rochester's second-lowest scorer at plus-three overall for the tournament, tied for 38th. Aujla nabbed an eagle on the par-five 10th hole and finished four-over-par over the first 18 holes, and then added two birdies over the day's final round to shoot one-under and head into the clubhouse at three-over-par overall.
 
Next on the leaderboard for the Yellowjackets is sophomore Alvin Su, who headed into the clubhouse at four-over-par for the day, tied for 45th overall. Su led the 'Jackets over the first 18 holes, shooting one birdie and hitting par on the rest of the 17 holes to finish one-under in the first round, and then finished five-over in the second round, adding two more birdies to end his day at four-over-par.
 
Sophomore Galen Fowles rounded out Rochester's top four golfers on the day, having finished the second round at four-over-par, and sitting at nine-over-par for the day, tied for 70th in the 101-player field. Fowles tallied two birdies, each of which came on the back nine, birdieing the par-four 13th hole in his first, five-over round, and then the par-three 16th hole in his second round.
 
Senior Josh Pethel is Rochester's final competitor in action at the Tiger Invitational, sitting at 19-over, tied for 98th, through the first 36 holes. Pethel shot 14-over-par over the first 18 holes, but rebounded to notch a trio of birdies and shoot just five-over-par over his next 18 holes, birdieing three holes on the back nine.
 
No. 9 Methodist leads the stacked field at nine-under through two rounds of play, with No. 1 Huntington (-6) and No. 3 Carnegie Mellon (-2) rounding out the top three teams. Rochester, at 15-over, sits in 11th, but just one stroke behind No. 17 Wittenberg in 10th at 14-over-par.
 
The Yellowjackets also had two individuals competing at the Hampden-Sydney Invitational at Foxfire Golf Club, with first-year Henry Zong tied for 55th, and senior Marshall Kim tied for 104th out of 122 golfers.
 
Zong carded a 79, seven-over on the par-72, 6,755-yard course, tallying a trio of birdies, two on the front nine and another on the back nine. Kim sits at 15-over, having shot six-over on the front nine and nine-over on the back nine.
 
The Yellowjackets will wrap up the Tiger Invitational with another shotgun start on Tuesday, March 10, in Pinehurst, NC, at 9:00 a.m., while Kim and Zong will get going at the Hampden-Sydney Invitational at Foxfire in Foxfire, NC, at 9:00 a.m. as well.