GREENVILLE, SC – Freshman Grainger Howle paced Francis Marion University's golf team on Friday (March 22) as the Patriots sit in 18th place after the opening round of the 50th-annual Furman Intercollegiate Men's Golf Tournament.

Round two will begin on Saturday morning (March 23) at the par-71, 6,984 yard Furman University Golf Course. The tournament's final round will be contested on Sunday.

Three teams finished below par for the day, led by Virginia Tech's three-under-par team score of 281. Coastal Carolina University is one stroke back in second place, with Davidson College two shots behind in third place. FMU posted a team score of 310.

A native of Darlington, Howle capped his day off with a birdie to card a team-best score of 75. He is tied for 52nd in the players' standings. Redshirt freshman McClure Thompson finished one shot behind after posting a 76, putting him in a tie for 65th place. Freshman Pierre De Caevel (78) is tied for 83rd, freshman Grant Sellers (81) is tied for 106th, and sophomore John Burghardt (87) is 119th.

De Caevel finished his front nine with an eagle on the par-4, 435-yard ninth hole, one of nine players in the field to card an eagle in the opening round. The freshman was one of two players to eagle the ninth hole. De Caevel also registered a team-high three birdies for the day, and finished tied for second in the field in par-3 scoring average at 2.75.

Just 12 players posted rounds under par in the first round, with four players carding two-under scores of 69 to pace the field. Sharing the 18-hole lead are Alex Ross of Davidson College, Wes Artac and Zack Taylor of Coastal Carolina, and James Turner of Dartmouth College.