DICKSON, Tenn. -- Two players are in the top 10 individually, led by Josh Simer's one-under-par 71 to put him in a four-way tie for third place, as the Tennessee Tech men's golf team opened play Monday in fifth place at the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Championships at GreyStone Golf Club.

In addition to Simer's play, Jake Heatherly (pictured) is tied for ninth place with a one-over 73. Heatherly led all golfers in the tournament with 15 pars. Simer tied for the most birdies in Monday's first round with four.

Tech is at nine-over par 297, just three stokes out of second place as the tournament is shaping up to see a fight to the finish. Murray State edged ahead of the field with a two-under 286 team total, putting the Racers eight shots ahead of UT Martin in second place.

The Skyhawks posted a six-over 294, followed closely by Jacksonville State (295), Austin Peay (296), Tech (297), Tennessee State (298) Eastern Kentuckty (300), Morehead State (301) and Eastern Illinois (304).

Murray State's Cameron Carrico and Tennessee Sate's Chris Seibel are tied for the individual lead at two-under 70, while Simer is one shot back along with with Erik Barnes of Austin Peay, Bailey Childress of UT Martin and Chris Griffin of Murray State.

Preston Marshall, who tied for Monday's lead in par five scoring, is tied for 27th place at 76. Wes Korth shot a 77 and is tied for 32nd place while Blake Garrison is in 43rd place after a first round 81.

The second round is set to tee off Tuesday at 8 a.m., with the final 18 holes on Wednesday.