HARRISON, Ohio — The Knox College men's golf team teed off at the Stateline Shootout this morning, hosted by Mount St. Joseph University, and completed the opening round with a 41-over 329, leaving the Prairie Fire tied for 13th in the 16-team field. Shenandoah University holds a four-stroke lead over Franklin College at 7-over par entering tomorrow's final round.
Play began on the 10th hole at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time at the par-72, 6,590-yard Miami Whitewater Forest Golf Course, though Knox was one of the last team's to begin at 10:30 a.m. Senior Pranav Nandakumar led Knox with a 4-over 76 with a pair of birdies to his credit, coming on his second and second-to-last holes of the round. On the final hole, a 530-yard par-5, he recorded his 12th par to end his day tied for 16th place among the 88 golfers.
Junior Nathaniel Zug had the Prairie Fire's next lowest score with a 10-over 82, tied for 57th, while senior Saransh Raina tied for 70th place with an 85 (+13). Aside for Nandakumar's two birdies, the only other one for Knox was turned in by senior Gabriel Newman on his final hole while carding an 86 (+14).
- Three players are tied atop the leaderbord and the only ones to break par for the round at 1-under — Dan Ailor (Shenandoah), Jordan Huxford (Franklin) and Jack Porter (Maryville College).
- First-year Sho Kuroda began the round for the Prairie Fire but withdrew shortly thereafter.
The tournament concludes with the second round that begins on Sunday morning.
