PINEHURST, N.C. – Senior Bryce Howell (+5) carded an even 72 in the opening round and added a second-round 77 to tie for seventh place Sunday in the first day of the 2017 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship at the par-72, 7,118 yard Pinehurst No. 9 in Pinehurst, N.C.  Due to predicted inclement weather in the Pinehurst area on Monday, the teams played 36 holes on Sunday. 

Howell, a native of Blythewood, S.C., notched four birdies in round one to finish the day five strokes back of ETSU's Geuntae Kim (E), who scored a 73 in the opening round and added a 71 in round two to lead the field by just one stroke after Sunday's play.  

Sophomore Connor Bruns (+8) is tied for 17th after shooting an 80 with a birdie on No. 10 in the first round and scoring a 72 with birdies on No. 2 and No. 9 in round two, and freshman Keller Harper (+10) is tied for 21st after carding a 78 with four birdies in the morning round and adding a 76 with a birdie on No. 16 in the afternoon.

Junior Hunter Nichols (+13) shot a 79 with a birdie on No. 14 in the first round and had a 78 with a birdie on No. 8 to tie for 29th, and sophomore Garrison Hogan (+15) enters the final round tied for 34th after carding an 80 with three birdies on the front nine in round one and adding a 79 in Sunday's second round.

The Paladins (+36) shot a 309 to conclude the first round in seventh place, then moved up to sixth place with a 303 in round two.  Two-time defending champion ETSU (+16) leads the tournament after posting rounds of 292 and 300, while Chattanooga (+22) and UNCG (+22) are tied for second place.  Western Carolina (+29) is in fourth, and Wofford (+34) is in fifth, just two strokes ahead of Furman.

The final round of the 54-hole tournament is scheduled for Tuesday beginning at 7:30 a.m.  The winner of the SoCon Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA regional, while the individual medalist will also earn an automatic regional qualification.

Fans can follow live scoring for the tournament by logging onto www.FurmanPaladins.com or www.GolfStat.com.

Julie Paré, Furman Sports Information

2017 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship

Pinehurst No. 9

Par 72, 7,118 yards

Pinehurst, N.C. 

6 Furman 309 303 612 +36

T7 Bryce Howell 72 77 149 +5

T17 Connor Bruns 80 72 152 +8

T21 Keller Harper 78 76 154 +10

T29 Hunter Nichols 79 78 157 +13

T34 Garrison Hogan 80 79 159 +15

Team results

Place Team                       Rd1 Rd2      Total

1       ETSU                       292  300       592

T2     Chattanooga             308  290       598

T2     UNCG                      303  295       598

4       Western Carolina      305  300       605

5       Wofford                    308  302       610

6       Furman                    309  303       612

7       Samford                   308  312       620

8       Mercer                     317  305       622

Individual leaders

Place Team                                                      Rd1      Rd2      Total

1       Geuntae Kim, ETSU                                 73        71        144

2       Wes Gosselin, Chattanooga                      73        72        145

T3     Jonathan Brightwell, UNCG                      71        75        146

T3     Josh Stockwell, UNCG                             73        73        146

T5     Etienne Brault, Chattanooga                     78        70        148

T5     Trevor Hulbert, ETSU                               71        77        148

T7     Aaron Walker, Samford                            75        74        149

T7     Bryce Howell, Furman                              72        77        149

T9     Brooks Thomas, Chattanooga                   76        74        150

T9     Ben Reichert, ETSU                                 74        76        150

T9     Bright Julamool, Western Carolina            76        74        150

T9     Drake Cassidy, Wofford College               77        73        150

T9     Mateusz Gradecki, ETSU                         74        76        150