DALLAS, TEXAS-- Furman sophomore Will Morlan (-5) fired an opening-round 67 Sunday to lead the Trinity Forest Invitational, which is being hosted by SMU at the par 72, 7372 yard Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.

A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Morlan teed off on No. 10 and notched three birdies to turn at 3-under.  He added three more of his team-high six birdies after the turn to finish the day at 5-under, one stroke ahead of six players who are tied for second at 4-under. 

Furman (-5) is in third place and has four players among the top 24, as seniors Sam Lape (E), Ross Funderburke (E), and Walker Crosby (E), all shot even par to tie for 24th.  Lape posted three birdies, while Funderburke tallied five birdies, including three in four holes from No. 14 through No. 17.  Crosby eagled the par-5 No. 2 and added three birdies in the round.

Sophomore Trey Diehl (+3) carded a 75 with consecutive birdies on No. 5 and No. 6 and a third birdie on No. 16 to tie for 64th.  

Little Rock (-9) leads the tournament by three strokes over host SMU (-5), while the Paladins (-5) sit in third place after one round of play.  SMU's B team (-4) is tied for fourth with Baylor (-4), and Florida Atlantic (-2) is in sixth place.  

Furman leads the field with a 4.45 average and 11-under score on the par 5s and is tied for second with 20 birdies in round one.

The Paladins will tee off of No. 1 beginning at 10:10 a.m. CT/11:10 a.m. ET on Monday in the second round of the 54-hole tournament and will play in a group with Little Rock and SMU.  Admission is free and fans are welcome.  Results and live tournament scoring are available via http://www.FurmanPaladins.com and http://www.golfstat.com.

3 Furman 283 283 -5

1 Will Morlan (1) 67 67 -5

T24 Sam Lape (2) 72 72 E

T24 Ross Funderburke (3) 72 72 E

T24 Walker Crosby (4) 72 72 E

T64 Trey Diehl (5) 75 75 +3