March 7, 2011

ONEONTA, Ala. - On the opening day of the 2011 Samford Invitational, play was suspended late in the evening as darkness fell over the Limestone Springs Golf Club. The 18 teams in this year's field were able to complete the first round of competition before making their way through 14 holes of the second round.

The teams will conclude play in the second round of competition at 8 a.m. (CST) Tuesday, and then close out the 54-hole Samford Invitational with the third-and-final round afterwards.

Samford finished the first round as the 14th-place team in the tournament with a total score of 306. Despite a lackluster opening-round performance, the Bulldogs only trail fourth-place Eastern Kentucky by nine strokes.

Casey O'Toole, Samford's defending champion from last season's competition, led his squad with an 18-hole total of 1-over-par 73 (38-35). O'Toole carded a back-nine total of 1-under-par 35, which was Samford's best nine-hole total of the first round.

The Bulldogs' scoring Monday was rounded out by senior Martin Bunt's 75 (39-36) and identical first-round scores of 79 from sophomores Drew Aimone (39-40), Gabe Hyde (41-38) and Bill Nabors (42-37).

Heading into the second round of competition, Samford's O'Toole came in tied for 15th place in the individual standings, while Bunt was tied for the 30th position.

Central Arkansas dominated Monday's competition with a 14-under-par 274 and holds a 19-stroke advantage over Alabama's JV team, which sits in second place at 293. Illinois State tallied a first-round score of 295 to place third.

Individually, Central Arkansas' Steven Lecuyer paced the field with an 18-hole mark of 5-under-par 67, while Eastern Kentucky's Billy Peel, Jr., grabbed the second-place position with a first-round card of 68.

The Samford University men's golf team will resume play in the 2011 Samford Invitational on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin the final round of competition being held at the Limestone Springs Golf Club in Oneonta, Ala.

Round One Results - Samford Invitational