11/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Sophomore R.J. Keur rattled off four straight birdies to open his back nine to propel Charleston Southern into a tie for the lead following the opening round of the Kiawah Classic by Aramark on Sunday at Turtle Point Golf Club.
Keur is also tied for the individual lead at 4-under (68) with Augusta's Robin Petersson and Radford's Nick Brediger through 18 holes. Fifteen golfers were under par in their opening round and are within three shots of the lead.
The Buccaneers (-1) lead by two strokes over No. 22 Virginia (+1) and Augusta University following the opening round. Missouri (+4), Georgia Southern, and Virginia Tech are tied for fourth in the 22-team field. No. 5 Duke and No. 9 Georgia Tech are tied for seventh to highlight the top 10.
"Today was a solid start, but it's only the first round," CSU Director of Golf Mike Wilson said following Sunday's round. "We know we need three solid rounds to win. R.J. catching fire gave us the score we needed to get into a good spot early, but it's still early. Hopefully we'll be up to the challenge tomorrow."
The Bucs had 17 birdies as a team led by five from Keur. The sophomore birdied the first four holes on the back nine to race into a tie for the lead.
Junior Austin James and sophomore Jake Ezell are tied for 16th at even par. James had a pair of birdies in his round of 72, while Ezell scattered three birdies and three bogeys.
Senior Taylor Zoller had a 3-under stretch in nine holes during his round, but started and finished slow in his round of 75 (+3).
Freshman Clayton Gregory was 2-under at the turn in his round following a trio of birdies on the opening nine, but finished with a 77 (+5).
Freshman Austin Campbell (+5) posted a 77 as an individual with three birdies in his early morning tee time.
The Bucs tee off beginning at 9:40 a.m. on Monday. Play begins at 6:40 a.m. and continues throughout the day.
-CSU-
