DATAW ISLAND, S.C. – Guilford College’s Ty Palmer (Kernersville, N.C./Forsyth Country Day) leads the 84-man field after Monday’s first two rounds of the TaylorMade-adidas Intercollegiate the Dataw Island Club’s Cotton Dike Course. The Quakers’ junior shot 71-72-143 on the par-72, 6,789-yard layout near Beaufort and has a two-shot edge over Wittenberg College’s Garrett Brickley (71-74-145), Virginia Wesleyan College’s Caleb Martin (767-69-145) and Hampden-Sydney College’s Alex Simmons (72-73-145).
Wittenberg holds a five-stroke lead over Guilford in the 12-team field. The Tigers, ranked fifth in the current Golfstat.com NCAA Division III Relative Rankings, shot 293-294-587 Monday. Wittenberg’s opening round is the difference so far, as the Quakers and third-place Virginia Wesleyan College also shot 294 in the second round. Guilford shot 298 in the first round, while the Marlins shot 300.
Wittenberg has four individuals among the top nine after 36 holes, including Maxim Boone (74-73-147) and Mark David Wright (73-74-147), who share sixth place. The Tigers’ Sam Geise (76-73-149) is in ninth place.
Guilford freshman Justin Perdue shot 75-71-146 and holds fifth place, three strokes off the lead. The Quakers’ Tommy Schick shot 73-76-149 in his first rounds as part of the Quakers’ team score. Senior Aaron Abts (Winston-Salem, N.C./Ledford (UNC Pembroke)) shot 79-78-157, which ranks 44th. He counted in Guilford’s first round, while Salah Sayess (Statesville, N.C./Forsyth Country Day) counted in the second round and is in 52nd place at 84-75-159.
The tournament features eight teams ranked among the top-60 squads according to the latest Golfstat.com rankings, including the 18th-ranked Quakers. It concludes with 18 holes Tuesday (3/8).