By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Tennessee Tech men's golf team took the first step towards history Sunday afternoon, getting off to a fast start at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships with a three-stroke lead over the field of nine programs following the first round of play at Dalhousie Country Club. 

The Golden Eagles produced at a high level on the first day of play, producing an 8-over 296 to hold three-shot advantages over both UT Martin and SIUE heading into Monday's second round. The Cougars' Presley Mackelburg led all individuals with a 3-under 69 on the day, but Tech's leader in the clubhouse followed closely behind.

Pacing the purple and gold with a 1-under 71 on the day, Nick Sutton sat comfortably in a tie for second in the field of 45 golfers. After carding a pair of birdies over the first four holes, the sophomore settled in and posted a pair of birdies to close out the front nine. He continued to roll on the back nine, carding three more birdies to close the day with five.

Following just one shot back was fellow youngster Jackson Skeen, securing an even-par 72 to tie for fifth overall. One day after being selected as the OVC's Freshman of the Year, the redshirt rookie tallied four birdies on the day. Veteran Bracton Womack was next on the leaderboard for the Golden Eagles, ending his day with a 3-over 75 to tie for 15th. He got off to a hot start with back-to-back birdies and secured one more over the front nine. 

Sean Anderson was the next member of the Cookeville crew on the leaderboard, wrapping up his first round of the tournament with a 78. The sophomore collected one birdie while tying for 21st. Mark McDearman rounded out the Tech effort, securing one birdie while finishing the day with an 89.

Round two of the OVC Championships is currently slated to begin with tee times at 8:00 a.m. CT Monday morning, with Tech scheduled to kick off its day at 9:40. With rain and inclement weather expected in the area overnight, a decision on whether to push back the start of round two will be made early Monday morning.

File photo by Thomas Corhern