March 28, 2008

Greenville, S.C. - Chattanooga's Jonathan Hodge paced the field with an opening round 69 to give the Mocs a three-stroke lead at 39th annual Furman Intercollegiate on Friday at the par 72, 6,800-yard Furman University Golf Course.

Hodge posted four birdies and just one bogey to claim a one-stroke advantage over second place Peter McGibney (35-35=70) of Francis Marion and two stroke lead over a group of eight golfers tied at one-under-par that includes Furman's Danny Schmieding.

Chattanooga enters Saturday's second round with a three-stroke lead over South Carolina and four shots ahead of third place Clemson. Vanderbilt and Ohio State round out the top five. Furman concluded Friday's play in an eighth place tie with Francis Marion just 10 strokes off of the lead.

Schmieding, playing as an individual, equaled a first round high with six birdies. Junior Jonathan Bowden led Furman's team to a 297 by opening tournament play with a 73. Ben Goforth posted a 74 and Matt Hayes and Austin Reeves each shot 75 for the Paladins.

Second round action is slated to get underway at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning with final round play slated for 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Admission to the Furman Intercollegiate is free and live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.

First Round Results