Skyhawks Shoot Even Par On First Day Of Peoples Golf Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – A trio of University of Tennessee at Martin representatives shot par or better today during the opening round of the Peoples Golf Championship held at the Sea Palms Resort.

The Skyhawks are one of 21 teams and 20 universities taking part in the three-day tournament as 123 golfers make up the field. UT Martin's even-par 284 is tied with Xavier to rank eighth in the team standings through 18 holes. Tournament host Western Carolina and Belmont each shot a 277 (-7) to pace the team side while Samford's Gavin Isbell, Charleston Southern's Theo Takman and Belmont's Chris Harpum are tied for the lead atop the player leaderboard with a 66 (-5).

The sophomore duo of Jaden Morrell and John-Gregory Wilson each guided the Skyhawks today with matching 70's (-1), ranking 20th in the player standings. Making the second start of his collegiate career, Morrell shot 2-under over the final 11 holes and had three birdies on the day. Wilson's scorecard included three birdies in a four-hole span on the back-nine as the Bolivar, Tenn. native finished with a team-best four red scores overall.

Luke Caldwell followed closely behind with an even-par 71 today, posting a pair of birdies and 15 pars. Drew Williams recorded UT Martin's final countable score of Round 1, sinking a pair of birdies on the way to a 73 (+2).

Completing the Skyhawk lineup was Grant Phillips (76, +5) while Ian Lambert (86, +15) is also taking part in the event as an individual.

The middle round of the tournament takes place tomorrow as UT Martin's scoring lineup will tee off Hole No. 10 between 11:45 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. CT alongside Valparaiso and Long Island. Lambert is paired with Takman and Providence's Callan Fahey at 12:05 p.m. CT on Hole No. 1.