GALESBURG, Ill. ­— Playing in its final tournament of the fall, the Knox men's golf team finished the first round of the Knox College Invite tied for second with a 314 (+26) with two other teams, five strokes behind Illinois Central College. First-year Thomas Lyaudet, fresh off being named the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week, carded a 1-over 73 to sit in second, one stroke behind the leader, Peyton Woods of ICC.

Starting on the 18th hole with the shotgun start at Soangetaha Country Club, Lyaudet parred 13 holes (second most among the 56-player field) and sank two birdies over his final five holes to continue his solid play in his rookie campaign. Junior Pranav Nandakumar shot a 77 (+5) while scoring birdies on the same two holes as Lyaudet — the par-3 13th and par-4 17th.

Also contributing to the team score were junior Gabriel Newman (+9) and Nathaniel Zug (+11) with the former dropping one birdie and the latter a pair.

Play concludes with a shotgun start Tuesday morning at 11:30 a.m.