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GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Virginia Tech men’s golf team shot an opening round 9-over-par 297 on Friday and is tied with Francis Marion for ninth place at the Furman Intercollegiate. The event is being played at the par 72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club outside of Greenville, South Carolina.

Drew Johnson, a sophomore from Oak Ridge, North Carolina, is playing the event as an individual and leads the eight Hokies competing. He shot a 3-under-par 69 and is tied for third place, two strokes behind Nick Torrance of Jacksonville and Brandon Robinson-Thompson of USC-Aiken, who hold the first round lead.

Scott Vincent, a senior from Harare, Zimbabwe, carded a 2-under-par 70 and is tied for sixth place. He is three strokes behind the leaders. Vincent posted the low round of the five-member starting line-up for Tech.

Trevor Cone, a senior from Concord, North Carolina, is tied for 30th at 1-over 73 and Maclain Huge, a junior from Lovettesville, Virginia is tied for 59th place at 76. Joey Lane, a sophomore from Great Falls, Virginia, is tied for 80th at 78 and freshman Dan Woodbury, a freshman from Upton, Massachusetts, is tied for 87th at 79.

Along with Johnson, two other Hokies are playing the tournament as individuals and one of those players joins Johnson in the top 10 overall. Ryan Mondy, a sophomore from Blacksburg, Virginia, shot 1-under 71 and is tied for ninth place. Ian Hildebrand, a freshman from Purcellville, Virginia, is tied for 87th place with a 79 on Friday.

USC-Aiken, ranked second nationally in Division II, has the first round lead at 4-under-par 284, two strokes ahead of Jacksonville and four strokes ahead of Troy. Georgia State and Akron are tied for fourth at 290, Western Carolina is fifth at 294, Chattanooga is sixth at 295 and Temple is eighth at 296, one stroke ahead of the Hokies and the Patriots. Davidson, Marshall and host Furman are tied for 11th at 300

The second round will be played on Saturday and the final round will take place on Sunday. The Hokies will begin at 8:50 a.m., on Saturday, grouped with Chattanooga and Wofford. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MGolf