Plymouth Meeting, Pa. -- Matt Broome and Matt Brown each carded a three-over 73 to pace Furman into a share of ninth place after 18 holes in the Big 5 Invitational at the par-70 Plymouth Country Club on Sunday.

The pair hold a share of 17th place, six strokes behind leader Ben Cooley of Penn, after the opening round.  Broome notched two first round birdies while Brown used a two-under front nine to propel him to a 73.  Senior J.B. Murphy fired a 76 in his first action of the season while Austin Reeves recorded three birdies en route to a seven-over par 77.

The Paladins (+19) trail first place Dartmouth (+6) by 13 strokes after 18 holes.  Penn (+10), Campbell (+12) and Temple (+14) rounded out the top four in the 22-team field.

The Big 5 Invitational continues with final round play on Sunday morning.

Log onto www.FurmanPaladins.com for updates on the Furman Men's golf team throughout the 2011 season.

T9 Furman 299

T17 Matt Broome 73

T17 Matt Brown 73

T48 JB Murphy 76

T59 Austin Reeves 77

T94 Greg Carrier 81