GALESBURG, Ill. ­— Junior Pranav Nandakumar took advantage of playing on his home course at Soangetaha Country Club in the first round of the Knox College Invitational, finishing the day tied atop the leaderboard at 3-under par. His performance led the Prairie Fire to third place in the seven-team field after the first 18 holes at eight-over par (296), eight strokes behind Central College and five behind Augustana College.

Teeing off on the second hole in the shotgun start, Nandakumar quickly got to work with a birdie, his first of four on the afternoon. The only blemish on his scorecard was a bogey on the fifth hole on the 6,463-yard, par-72 course as he carded a career-low round.

First-year Thomas Lyaudet matched his teammate with four birdies in his round, closing the day in a tie for 11th place at 1-over par (73).

• Also contributing to the team score were first-year Diego Carrillo (+4, 17th) and junior Gabriel Newman (+6, tied for 19th) with the former sinking three birdies and the latter one.
• Junior Saransh Raina competed as an individual in his first event this season for the Prairie Fire, ending the day in 33rd at 13-over but also sinking his first birdie on the fifth hole.

The invitational will conclude with the second and final round at Soangetaha tomorrow, teeing off at 9 a.m. Knox will be paired with Central and Augustana.