Destin, Florida - The No. 14 Trinity Men's Golf concluded their first round in the Golfweek October Classic, currently sitting in third place.
The Tigers opened their account in the October Classic with a very solid three-over-par 287 team score, just two shots off the lead. Conference rivals Southwestern hold a slim margin at the top; however, with two rounds still to play Trinity has plenty of time to show their quality and cut the deficit. The Tigers showed off their attacking golf, carding the second-most birdies of the day (17) and one of only two eagles made in Sunday's action.
Sam Rossi (Los Angeles, Calif. / Loyola) leads the player leaderboard by two strokes after firing an extraordinary six-under-par 65. Rossi opened his round with three birdies and an eagle in his first five holes to take a commanding lead, a lead he continued to hold. His exceptional play, with just one bogey and seven birdies or better, has propelled Trinity into third position overall.
Carter Code (Calgary, Alberta, Canada / Manning) continued his impressive form to finish T-15 with a one-over-par 72. Birdies in his opening two holes meant Code was off to a hot start and played steady golf after, with eleven pars. Keeping Trinity in a strong position.
Andre Follmer (Austin, Texas / Lake Travis) shot a four-over-par 75 to open his tournament with three birdies in his last five holes, placing him in T-48 out of the 120-man field.
Jeffrey Forster (Santa Barbara, Calif. / San Marcos) also shot a four-over-par 75 with three birdies to his name, leaving him T-48.
Neel Sandhu (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) highlighted the quality and depth of the Tigers, shooting a four-over-par 75 on day one, leaving him T-48.
Looking ahead
Trinity will look to capitalize on the strong position that its consistency and individual brilliance from Rossi has put them in. With two more rounds to play at the Raven Golf Club, the Tigers will feel encouraged by a strong opening day and confident that they can climb to the top of the packed DIII field.
