NELLYSFORD, Va. – Guilford College’s Josh Hill shot an opening-round 72 to help the Quakers to first place after 18 holes of the 11-team Old Dominion Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships Sunday. Hill’s even-par score on the 6,935-yard Monocan and Shamokin layouts of the Wintergreen Resort and Stoney Creek Golf Course shares the top spot on the 54-man leaderboard with Randolph-Macon College’s Matt McDonagh.
Second-round play was suspended Sunday due to rain. The 54-hole tournament is slated to run through Tuesday, but the weather forecast could force schedule alterations.
Guilford shot a six-over 294 Sunday and holds an eight-stroke lead over second-place Washington and Lee University, the event’s defending champion. Hampden-Sydney shot 306 in Sunday’s first round and is in third place, two strokes ahead of Randolph-Macon College. Virginia Wesleyan College fired an opening-round 312 and rounds out the top five.
Hill paced four Quakers in the top 10 after Sunday’s first round. Teammate Kell Graham was one stroke off the lead in third place, one stroke better than the Quakers’ Ty Palmer, who shot 74 Sunday. Guilford’s Zach Evens carded a three-over 75 in the first round and is part of a four-way tie for eighth place. The Quakers’ fifth contestant, Harrison Frye, fired a 77 and holds a piece of a logjam in 17th place among individuals.
Hill started his round on the third hole and collected four birdies, including one on the second hole to match the day’s low score. Graham had five birdies in his round, but was held back by a double-bogey five on the par-three eighth hole. Palmer was two-over through after four holes and four-over after 11, but birdied three straight holes to get back to one-over with four to play. Evens may well be the leader if not for a quintuple-bogey eight on the 416-yard, par-three 15th hole. He made five birdies and eight pars in his round.
Coach Justin Tereshko’s Quakers are ranked 17th in this week’s Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches’ Poll and 19th in Golfstat.com’s NCAA Division III Head-to-Head Rankings. The Quakers have won a league-record 15 ODAC men’s golf titles, most recently in 2015.