JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Virginia Tech men’s golf team fired an opening round four-under-par 284 and is in second place at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at Blackthorn Club on Friday afternoon. The tournament is being played at the par 72, 7,147-yard Blackthorn Club at The Ridges in Johnson City, Tenn.
Junior Scott Vincent (Harare, Zimbabwe) shot a 5-under-par 67 and is tied for second place individually, along with Thomas Birdsey of Wake Forest and Bryce Howell of Furman. They are one stroke behind Rhys Pugh of host East Tennessee State. Vincent entered the event ranked No. 8 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Senior Bryce Chalkley (Richmond, Va.) shot a 1-under-par 71 and is tied for 15th place and junior Trevor Cone (Concord, N.C.) is tied for 24th place following an even-par 72. Freshman Joey Lane (Great Falls, Va.), making his first appearance in the Hokies’ starting line-up, is tied for 41st place at 74 and sophomore Maclain Huge (Lovettesville, Va.) is tied for 53rd place at 75.
Two Hokies are playing this event as individuals. Freshman Drew Johnson (Oak Ridge, N.C.) is tied for 41st place at 74 and junior Miles Curley (Rock Hill, S.C.) is tied for 56th place at 76.
ETSU leads the event after shooting an 11-under-par 277, seven strokes better than the Hokies. Kent State and Coastal Carolina are tied for third a 285, Memphis and UNC Wilmington are tied for fifth place at even-par 288 and Tennessee and Wake Forest are tied for seventh at 290. Furman is ninth at 292, Virginia and Missouri are tied for 10th at 295, Army is 12th at 296, Penn State is 13th at 305 and Villanova is 14th at 327.
The event once again boasts a strong field. Half of the 14 teams are ranked in the top 50 of the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, led by the No. 13 Hokies. Six of the teams are in the top 50 of the Golfstat.com poll. Three teams; Tech, Virginia and Kent State, are ranked in the top 20 of both polls. Five individuals, including No. 8 Scott Vincent of Virginia Tech, are ranked in the top 50 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
The teams will play the second round on Saturday and the final round will take place Sunday. Live stats are available on golfstat.com and hokiesports.com.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MGolf).