Ege, Dodd-Berry tied for individual lead; ETSU holds three-shot advantage over Chattanooga and Furman

GREENSBORO, Ga. (April 23, 2023) – Thanks to a late run of birdies – and one eagle – over the final four holes, the ETSU men’s golf team grabbed both the team and individual leads following opening round play at the Southern Conference Championship, which got underway Sunday afternoon from Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.

Sparked by the strong play from freshman Matty Dodd-Berry (Wirral, England) and redshirt sophomore Mats Ege (Kristiansand, Norway), the Blue & Gold registered a 14-under-par 274 to build a three-shot lead over both Furman and Chattanooga in round one. The Buccaneer duo posted identical scores of 6-under 66 to sit tied for first on the individual leaderboard.

ETSU – looking to win its third straight SoCon crown – closed the stretch run with a bang as the Bucs played the final five holes at seven-under-par from their four countable scorers on Sunday. The Bucs totaled eight of their 22 birdies during that surge – including Ege and Dodd-Berry playing those final four holes at seven-under.

To go with the 22 birdies on Sunday, ETSU was the only team to record multiple eagles – coming from Archie Davies (Carlisle, England) and reigning champion Remi Chartier (Montreal, Canada). The Blue & Gold led the field in par-5 scoring as they played the four holes at 10-under and went one-under on the par-4s.

Ege and Dodd-Berry each totaled seven birdies on Sunday to finish with the 66s.

Dodd-Berry – playing in his first conference championship – tied his lowest collegiate round on Sunday. The Buccaneer freshman played the back nine at five-under, while he totaled four birdies over his final five holes to move atop the leaderboard.

Ege also enjoyed the back nine as he played his final nine holes at four-under and tallied three birdies over final five holes.

For the round, Ege and Dodd-Berry combined for 14 birdies, 20 pars and two bogeys. The Buccaneer duo hold a one-shot advantage over Chattanooga’s Paul Conroy and Furman’s Harris Barth.

The Bucs’ other two countable scores came from Davies and Chartier. Davies is tied for seventh at 2-under-par 70, while Chartier is tied for 21st at even-par 72.

Monday’s second round begins at 9 a.m. The Bucs will again be in the final group to tee off on Monday.

Fans can follow live scoring via Golfstat.com. In addition, live tweets will be available by following the Bucs on Twitter @ETSU_MGolf.

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