INDEPENDENCE, MINN. -- Sophomore Will Morlan (-8) is tied for first place to lead the Furman men's golf team after Sunday's two rounds in the opening day of the Gopher Invitational at the par 71, 7,293 yard Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minn.
A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Morlan played virtually flawless golf in round one. He teed off on No. 10 and opened with consecutive birdies on No. 10 and No. 11 then birdied four-straight holes from No. 17 through No. 2. He posted a double bogey on No. 4 but rebounded with a seventh birdie on No. 9 to finish with a career-low 66. In the day's second round, he tallied three birdies on the back to turn at 3-under then recorded three-straight birdies on No. 3 through No. 5 to card a second-round 68.
Morlan sits in a four-way tie for first place with Garrett Cooper (-8) of Coastal Carolina and Xavier Marcoux (-8) and Rhett Sellers (-8) of Rutgers. The group holds a two-stroke lead over three players who are tied for fifth.
Senior Sam Lape (-4) is also inside the top 10 after finishing the day in a tie for ninth. He tallied a 73 with three birdies on the front nine, including back to back birdies on No. 7 and No.8, in round one then fired a 65 to pace Furman in round two. He parred his first seven holes then notched three birdies on No. 17 through No. 1 and added three additional birdies from No. 5 through No. 8. Lape's 65 ties the fifth-best round in program history and is the best round by a Paladin since Keller Harper's 63 in 2019.
Senior Walker Crosby (+1) finished Sunday's play tied for 44th after posting rounds of 71 and 72. He notched three birdies in round one and added a birdie on No. 16 in round two. Senior Ross Funderburke (+2) enters Monday's final round tied for 50th. He carded a 73 with a birdie on No. 9 in round one and shot an even 71 with four birdies in the day's second round. Funderburke scored three-straight birdies on No. 3 through No. 5 of round two. Senior Reynolds Lambert (+8) is tied for 76th with rounds of 76 and 74.
Furman (-9) is in fifth place after two rounds of play. The Paladins' second-round 276 ties the fourth-best round in program history. Furman led the field with 3.95 scoring average on the par 4s and ranked fifth with 121 pars on the day.
Rutgers (-15) leads the field by three strokes after two rounds of play. Michigan State (-12) is in second place, followed by Kent State (-11) and Georgia Southern (-11), who are tied for third. The Paladins lead Baylor (-8) and Kansas (-8) by one stroke and hold a two-stroke advantage over Notre Dame (-6).
Furman will tee off of No. 1 beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday in the final round of the 54-hole tournament and will play in a group with Georgia Southern and Baylor. Admission is free and fans are welcome. Results and live tournament scoring are available via http://www.FurmanPaladins.com and http://www.golfstat.com.
5 Furman 283 276 559 -9
T1 Will Morlan (2) 66 68 134 -8
T9 Sam Lape (3) 73 65 138 -4
T44 Walker Crosby (5) 71 72 143 +1
T50 Ross Funderburke (1) 73 71 144 +2
T76 Reynolds Lambert (4) 74 76 150 +8
