Men's golf fires 9-under 275 on opening day of Mason Rudolph Championship

Friday, April 5

Nashville, TN

8:00 am

University of Memphis

Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate (host: Vanderbilt)

Brad Bawden eagled the par-5 18th hole Friday to finish his opening round in the Mason Rudolph Championship at 4-under 67.

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Men's golf fires 9-under 275 on opening day of Mason Rudolph Championship

Apr 05, 2019 | Men's Golf

Mason Rudolph Team Leaderboard Mason Rudolph Player Leaderboard

Bawden, Giles post 4-under 67s to push Tigers near top of leaderboard

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Nick Giles and Bradley Bawden fired 4-under 67s and Chase Harris added a 1-under 70 to lead the University of Memphis men's golf team on the opening day of the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club.

Behind Giles, Bawden, Harris and Borja Martin, who shot even-par 71, the Tigers are in second place after 18 holes of the three-day, 54-hole event. Memphis fired a 9-under 275 Friday to finish six strokes behind Tennessee, which opened with a 15-under 269.

The 275 was the best round of the spring for the Tigers, who are playing in their fourth event.

"(Friday) was a great start to the tournament," said Memphis coach Blake Smart. "We played really solid and the guys seemed very comfortable all day. Great starts are always welcome, but we have a lot of golf left against a really solid field, so we have to stay focused and stick to our process."

The 16-team field includes fourth-ranked Vanderbilt, 20^th-ranked Liberty and 25^th-ranked Tennessee.

With their 67s, Giles and Bawden are tied for sixth-place individually. Kentucky's Cullan Brown is the first-round leader at 8-under 63. Tennessee's Nolan Ray shot 64.

Bawden moved into the top 10 on his last hole, finishing his round with an eagle-3 on 18. Giles round included seven birdies, to offset a double-bogey on 17.

2019 Mason Rudolph Championship

Event: Mason Rudolph Championship at Franklin, Tenn.
When: April 5, 6, and 7
Where: Vanderbilt Legends Club
Host: Vanderbilt
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,100 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Teams in the Field (16): Ball State, Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Liberty, Marquette, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky.