AIKEN, S.C. -- Sophomore Reynolds Lambert (-8) sits in second place and senior Keller Harper (-7) is in third, while the Furman men's golf team has a strong hold on third place after the opening day of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at the par 70, 6,617 yard Palmetto Golf Course in Aiken, S.C.

Lambert, a native of Mountain Brook, Ala., carded a 67 with four birdies in the day's opening round then fired a 65 with six birdies, including consecutive birdies on No. 13 and No. 14, to conclude the day one stroke back of individual leader Jacob Bridgeman (-9) of Clemson, who ranks second nationally and recorded rounds of 64-67=131 for the lead.

Harper, who hails from Atlanta, Ga., is just one stroke behind Lambert in sole possession of third place.  He notched a 68 with four birdies in the day's opening round then added a 65 with three birdies, including three consecutive birdies from No. 7 through No. 9, in the day's second round.  

Junior Jack Crosby (-1) is tied for 14th after two rounds.  In round one, he posted a 71 with a team-high five birdies then scored a 68 in the day's second round.  Crosby eagled the par-5 No. 10 and added three additional birdies in round two.  

Junior Owen Burden (+6) carded a 71 with two birdies in the day's first round then rallied for three consecutive birdies on No. 14 through No. 16 in the second round for a 75.  He enters Tuesday's final round tied for 37th.  Sophomore Ross Funderburke (+7) is tied for 44th after scoring a 74 with three birdies then a 73 with five birdies in the second round. 

The Paladins led the field with a 2.88 average on the par 3s and paced the field with 41 birdies on the day.  Furman tied for second in par 5 scoring at 4.40 and ranked fifth in par 4 scoring at 4.12.

Seventh-ranked Clemson (-2) leads the field by four strokes after one day of competition.  UNC Wilmington (-16) is in second, followed by the Paladins (-12) in third.  Furman leads SoCon foes Wofford (+17) and Samford (+33) going into the final round.  

The 54-hole tournament will conclude with a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday.  Furman will tee off of holes No. 1 through 4 and will play in a group with Clemson and UNC Wilmington.  Results and live tournament scoring are available via www.FurmanPaladins.com and www.golfstat.com.

3 Furman 277 271 548 -12

2 Reynolds Lambert (3) 67 65 132 -8

3 Keller Harper (1) 68 65 133 -7

T14 Jack Crosby (2) 71 68 139 -1

T37 Owen Burden (5) 71 75 146 +6

T44 Ross Funderburke (4) 74 73 147 +7