ORLANDO - Florida Southern opened up play here Monday by firing a 593 for 36 holes to stand in third place out of 18 teams following the first day of action at the McDonough Cup hosted by Rollins College and held at Rio Pinar Country Club.
The Moccasins opened the tournament by shooting a 300 in the first round, before carding a 293 in the second round of action. After the first round, the Mocs were tied for fourth place, but move one spot following its second round performance.
Nova Southeastern holds the lead after the first two rounds as the Sharks shot 585 for 36 holes to lead by two shots over Lynn University, who shot a 587 for two rounds. NSU fired rounds of 294 and 291, while Lynn carded rounds of 299 and 288.
Mount Olive College stands in fourth place as they carded a 596 in the first two rounds after firing rounds of 300 and 296.
Leading the way for the Mocs was senior Case Gard (Lakeland, Fla.), who shot a two-round total of 145 to stand tied for fourth place. Gard opened the tournament with a 74 in the first round, before shooting a one-under par 71 in the second round.
NSU's Ben Taylor, Rollins' Davis Hall and Mount Olive's Mark O'Hara share the lead after two rounds as they all three carded even-par 144's. Gard is tied with Carson-Newman's Jonathan Kim-Moss and Lynn's Filip Timmerman as they all shot 145 for 36 holes.
In addition to Gard, junior Tim Crouch (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) shot a 147 for 36 holes to stand tied for 12th place. Crouch shot a 71 in the first round and then fired a 76 in the second round. Senior Peter Creighton (Kenmore, N.Y.) fired a 152 for 36 holes to stand tied for 36th place. Creighton had rounds of 80 and 72, while junior Shane Convery (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) shot a 153 (79, 74) to stand tied for 41st place after 36 holes. The final competitor for the Mocs was freshman Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla.) carded a 154 (76, 78) to stand tied for 49th place.
The Mocs will complete play with a final 18 holes on Tuesday morning at Rio Pinar.