Liberty University
Mason Rudolph Championship
Strong Back 9 Effort Keeps Flames in Contention at Mason Rudolph
4/5/2019 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
No. 20 Liberty carded nine birdies and a pair of eagles during the back nine on Friday, keeping the Flames in hunt at the conclusion of the first round of the 2019 Mason Rudolph Championship.
Following the solid closing stretch of holes, the Flames find themselves tied for seventh place after carding a 4-under par 280 on the Vanderbilt Legends Club – South Course (par 71, 7,100 yards).
The Flames are tied with No. 41 Marquette, who also carded a 4-under par 280, on the home course of the No. 4 ranked Vanderbilt. The home team Commodores are in 10th place after an even par 288 during the opening round of their three-day, 54-hole event.
Round Recap – Liberty's Starting Five:
• No. 64 Gabe Lench: T6 4-under par 67 (67)
• Alexandre Fuchs: T18 2-under par 69 (69)
• No. 30 Ervin Chang: T42 1-over par 72 (72)
• Kieran Vincent: T42 1-over par 72 (72)
• Jonathan Yaun: T42 1-over par 72 (72)
Field Reflections:
• The 16-team field is chasing No. 25 Tennessee, who blitzed the course on Friday with an opening round 15-under par 269.
• Memphis was one of the final teams off the course on Friday and they used the afternoon playing conditions to their advantage to take over second place with a 9-under par 275.
• Liberty's former Big South foe Coastal Carolina rounds out the top three teams in the field at third place with an 8-under par 276.
• Nine of the 16 teams in the field finished the first day of the tournament with an under-par team score.
• Kentucky's Cullan Brown and Tennessee's Nolan Ray lead the 90-play field following opening round 7-under pars 64.
Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:
• The tournament is Liberty's third regular season event where the Flames will only play 18 holes per day during a 54-hole event, helping prepare them for the same style of play at the ASUN Men's Golf Championship and the NCAA Regionals.
• Liberty finished the first day of play ranked second in the field in par-5 scoring, posting an average score of 4.65 on the par-5 holes (7-under par).
• The Flames also ranked second in the field with 62 pars and were one of four teams to record multiple eagles on the opening day.
• Gabe Lench, who came into the event individually ranked No. 64 in the country, leads the Flames and is tied for sixth place following a 4-under par 67.
• Lench was a catalyst for Liberty's back nine comeback, as the senior carded three birdies and an eagle during his final seven holes on Friday.
• Alexandre Fuchs is tied for 18th place following a 2-under par 69, his third sub-70 round of the season.
• Ervin Chang, who is ranked No. 30 in the country, Kieran Vincent and Jonathan Yaun are all tied for 42nd place following an opening around 1-over par 72.
Course Information:
• Vanderbilt Legends Club – South Course (Franklin, Tenn.)
• Par 71, 7,100 yards
Following the Flames at Mason Rudolph Championship:
• Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
• Twitter @LibertyGolf
• Instagram @LibertyGolf
• Round 2 Tee Time: Saturday at 10:15 a.m./CST (No. 1 tee)
