SAPPHIRE, N.C. – Guilford College shot 309 and holds 12th place after Saturday’s first round of the Hummingbird Intercollegiate men’s golf tournament at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley.
Samford University shot two-under-par 282 and opened a four-stroke lead over second-place Belmont University in the 13-team tournament hosted by Western Carolina University. Guilford, the lone none-NCAA Division I team in the field, sits in 12th place, two shots behind High Point University and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Guilford senior Noah Ratner carded a three-over 74 on the par-71, 6,767-yard course. He was three-over after five holes, but settled in and played the remaining 13 holes at even par. Ratner sits in 23rd place in the 82-man field. Teammates Drew Thompson and Travis Tolbert both fired 78s and are in a nine-way tie for 50th place. Dallas Page provided the Quakers’ fourth score with a 79 and Guilford’s Nick Shedd shot 86.
Gardner-Webb University’s Daley Byles turned in a four-under 67 to take a one-shot edge over Wofford College’s Cory Taylor and Belmont’s Ashton Van Horne, who both shot 68. Samford’s Zac Hughes and Casey O’Toole are among three players at 69 and teammate Drew Almonte shot 70.
The tournament concludes with Sunday’s final round.