FRANKLIN, Tenn. (April 13, 2018) – Trevor Hulbert (Orlando, Fla.) paced the ETSU men’s golf team on the opening day of the Mason Rudolph Championship  as the Buccaneer sophomore is in 17th-place after completing the first two rounds on Friday from the Vanderbilt Legends Course.

Hulbert, coming off a third-place finish earlier this week at the Wofford Invitational, carded consecutive rounds of 73 en route to posting a 4-over-par 146. Hulbert, who registered 23 pars and five birdies on the day, totaled the second-lowest scoring average on the par-4s at even-par. Junior Geuntae Kim (Daegu, South Korea) is one shot back of Hulbert at 5-over-par 147 (73-74), while freshman Shiso Go (Kanagawa, Japan) finds himself one stroke behind Kim at 6-over-par 148 (73-75).

The 82-man field is chasing both Vanderbilt’s John Augenstein and Alabaman’s Davis Shore as they are tied atop the leaderboard at 3-under-par 139. Georgia’s Spencer Ralston is one shot back in third, while a pair of golfers are two strokes off the lead in fourth. Vanderbilt’s Theo Humphrey rounded out the group of six golfers to post a score of even-par or better after 36 holes as the first-round leader is in sixth at even-par 142.

Liberty holds the team lead after 36 holes as the 46th-ranked Flames are at 2-over-par 570 (291-279), while No. 7 Alabama and No. 3 Vanderbilt cap off the top three teams. The Crimson Tide are two shots back at 4-over-par 572 (291-281) and the Commodores are five strokes back at 7-over-par 575 (288-287).

The Bucs are in seventh-place at 24-over-par 592 (293-299).

Senior Cayman Ratliff (Kingsport, Tenn.) is tied for 29th at 7-over-par 149 (76-73), while freshman Jack Rhea (Jonesborough, Tenn.), who carded the Bucs’ lone eagle on the day, is tied for 38th at 9-over-par 151 (74-77). Ratliff, playing as an individual, recorded three birdies, five pars and one bogey in his final nine holes in round two to move 11 spots up the leaderboard.

The teams played 36 holes on Friday due to inclement weather expected to hit the region on Saturday. The final round is scheduled to begin with a shotgun start beginning at noon Eastern on Saturday.

Live scoring for the tournament is provided via Golfstat, while Twitter updates can be accessed by following @ETSU_MGolf.

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.