LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior Kyle Gunther (Dunlap, Ill./Peoria Christian) fired a career-low 68 in the first round and the Bradley men's golf team shot two of its three lowest rounds of the spring to finish Saturday's action at the Bluegrass Invitational sixth in the team standings.
Gunther's four-under 68 at the University Club of Kentucky's par-72 Big Blue Course was a career low and he was tied for the lead after 18 holes. The 68 helped highlight an opening round 291 for the Braves, which tied for the 11th lowest round in program history and is the second lowest round of the spring.
Bradley followed up the first round 291 with a 296 in the afternoon for the third lowest round of the spring slate and the Braves finished the first day of play in sixth at 587. Gunther shot a second-round 76 and was Bradley's top performer Saturday as he heads into Sunday's final round tied for 14th (144) overall.
Junior Seth Trolia (Mahomet, Ill./Seymour) is two shots back of Gunther in a tie for 22nd at 146, carding rounds of 74 and 72. Trolia moved into a tie for 10th in school history for career rounds in the 70's as he fired his 70th career sub-80 round.
Fellow junior Danny Masrin (Palatine, Ill./Jakarta International School) extended his streak of consecutive sub-80 rounds to 10 with scores of 74 and 75 Saturday. He is tied for 36th in the field at 149 after the opening day. Senior Daniel Young (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) fired a pair of 75's and is tied for 41st (150), while freshman Bobby Jacobs (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) rounded out the team scoring for the Braves with rounds of 79 and 74 to finish the day three shots behind Young in a tie for 59th (153).
Tournament-host Kentucky shot an impressive 13-under par 563 and has a four-shot lead on second-place Auburn, which shot nine-under 567. Cincinnati closed Saturday in third at five-under 571 and Eastern Kentucky sits in fourth at two-over 578. Tennessee Tech is six shots ahead of the Braves in fifth (581) and Bradley follows in sixth (587).
Valparaiso and Northern Kentucky are one shot behind the Braves in a tie for seventh at 588, while Lipscomb and Dayton ended the day tied for ninth (595). Southern Illinois Edwardsville is 11th in the team standings at 602 with Wright State (12th – 610) and Morehead State (13th – 615) completing the field, respectively.
Sunday's final round of the Bluegrass Invitational is slated to tee off at 7 a.m. (CDT).
