Strong Opening Rounds Highlights Monday at Pinehurst

PINEHURST, N.C. – The Wake Forest men's golf team came out firing in the opening round of the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst No. 2, taking the lead into the second round of the tournament Monday.

Junior Michael Brennan paced the team in the opening round, recording a season-low 64 (-6) which was just two strokes off the course record set by Tom Watson at the 1973 World Open. Brennan took the individual lead into the second round and was as low as 7-under-par during the day. After the second round, he still remains in contention for the individual title as he is just four strokes back with 18 holes to play.

If Brennan were to come back and win an individual title, this would be the second in three starts this spring and his sixth overall in his career. Only three Demon Deacons have more than six or more titles in their collegiate career: Bill Haas (10), Gary Hallberg (9) and Curtis Strange (8).

The Demon Deacons as a team are tied for sixth with a two-round score of 577 (+17), sitting ahead of or tied with ACC foes Clemson, Duke and NC State.

The Deacs have tended to play their best golf in the final round of the tournament this season with three of the four lowest rounds coming in the final rounds of tournaments this season. This including the Battle at Briar's Creek where Wake Forest fought back from eight strokes down going into the final day to pull ahead and win by nine stokes, a 17-stroke difference:

Rank	Score to Par	Tournament	Round
1.	278 (-10)	Battle at Briar's Creek	3rd Round
2.	271 (-9)	Maui Jim Intercollegiate	3rd Round
3.	272 (-8)	Maui Jim Intercollegiate	1st Round
4.	274 (-6)	Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational	3rd Round

The Demon Deacons had five total players finish inside of the top 25 with freshman Andrew McLauchlan tied for 16th. He had the lowest second round out of any Deac golfer and was one of just 12 players in the entire field to be below par in the second. Junior Clay Stirsman also had a strong second round to help shoot up the leaderboard. He goes into the final round tied for 20th.

Inside of the Wake Forest lineup, senior Mark Power and sophomore Scotty Kennon are both tied for 25th individually at 4-over-par through 36 holes of play. Power had one of the two eagles on the course Monday as he rolled in a chip in the par-5 fifth

The final round will begin tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. The Demon Deacons A team will be paired with Duke and College of Charleston. The B team will be paired with SMU and Clemson.

From Coach Haas:

"They started beautifully this morning including a 64 (-6) by Michael Brennan. They did not score the ball very well in the afternoon as evidence of our scores. A lot to play for tomorrow can still move up the leaderboard. Let's see what we're made of." head coach Jerry Haas

Day One Scores:

Team

Rank	Team	Round One	Round Two	Total
T1	UNCG	287	277	564 (+4)
T1	Virginia	285	279	564 (+4)
T3	ETSU	286	288	574 (+14)
T3	Northwestern	294	280	574 (+14)
5	Iowa	290	285	575 (+15)
T6	Wake Forest	282	295	577 (+17)
T6	Duke	282	295	577 (+17)
T6	NC State	292	285	577 (+17)
9	College of Charleston	292	286	578 (+18)
10	SMU	289	291	580 (+20)
11	Wake Forest (B)	296	290	586 (+26)
12	Clemson	295	300	595 (+35)

Wake Forest Team

Player	Rank	Round One	Round Two	Total
Michael Brennan	T7	64	76	140 (E)
Scotty Kennon	T25	71	73	144 (+4)
Mark Power	T25	73	71	144 (+4)
Boyd Owens	T50	74	76	150 (+10)
Marshall Meisel	T57	77	75	152 (+12)

Wake Forest B Team

Player	Rank	Round One	Round Two	Total
Andrew McLauchlan	T24	73	69	142 (+2)
Clay Stirsman	T20	73	70	143 (+3)
Fulton Smith	T34	72	74	146 (+6)
Daniel Sheedy	T62	78	77	155 (+15)
Collin Adams	66	79	82	161 (+21)

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Players Mentioned

Collin Adams

Michael Brennan

Scotty Kennon

Andrew McLauchlan

Marshall Meisel

Boyd Owens

Mark Power

Daniel Sheedy

Fulton Smith

Clay Stirsman

Wake Forest Athletics