What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State shot an opening round 3-under 285 to stand in second place following the first round of the Furman Intercollegiate.
* Senior JJ Grey led the Panthers with an opening round 3-under 69, making eight birdies on Friday, the most in the field.
* Georgia State has won the last two Furman Intercollegiate events, including a 16-stroke win last year.
ATLANTA – Behind a not-so-normal 3-under 69 from senior JJ Grey, Georgia State, the two-time defending champions, opened the Furman Intercollegiate with a 3-under 285 to stand in second place after 18 holes on Friday.
Grey, currently ranked No. 87 in the country by GolfStat, sits tied for fourth and just two strokes off the lead after making eight birdies. What derailed his round were a pair of back nine double bogeys that left him two off the pace with 36 holes to play.
The Panthers sit just one stroke behind Harvard entering play on Saturday. Last season, Georgia State won the event by 16 strokes a year after sharing the team title with Virginia Tech.
“It was a very interesting round for us,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We made a lot of birdies, even a few eagles, but the number of bogeys caught up to us. The course was playing tough, but I expect us to eliminate some of those bogeys tomorrow and post another good round.”
Sophomore Alexander Herrmann stands tied for 18th following a 1-under 71 that included four birdies. Twin brother Max Herrmann is even par and tied for 24th. He, along with freshman Nick Budd each eagled the par-5 sixth hole. Budd is just one stroke back at 1-over and tied for 34th. Junior Nathan Mallonee rounded out the line-up with a 2-over 74 and is tied for 44th.
Five members of the team also competed as individuals. James Kyles led the way with a 4-over 76 and is tied for 69th. Sean Murphy and Hayden Poole each shot 77 on Friday and are tied for 85th. Nathan Williams shot an opening round 6-over 78 and is tied for 96th, while Sam Asbury opened with an 80 and is tied for 105th.
Harvard opened play with a 4-under 284 to hold a one stroke lead over Georgia State. Host Furman sits third at even par, with Francis Marion and USC Upstate tied for fourth at 1-over. A group of four teams are tied for sixth at 2-over.
Wofford's Andrew Novak and Marshall's Logan Lagodich each shot an opening round 5-under 67 to lead the 125-player field by one stroke. Akron's George Baylis sits alone in third at 4-under. A group of four golfers, including Grey are tied for fourth at 3-under. The group also includes Harvard's Rohan Ramnath, Akron's Ryan Harris and USC Aiken's Hubert Tisserand.
Georgia State will be paired with Mercer and Akron for the first two rounds, teeing off at noon on Saturday as the tournament utilizes a two-wave format. Live scoring can be found throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com.
Following the event, Georgia State will return to the course April 4-5 for the Old Waverly Collegiate in West Point, Miss. It will serve as the final regular season event of the year.
