NEWTON, Kan. -- Five Bruins find themselves in the top 25 and the Bellevue University men's golf team is in seventh place after the opening day of play at the Mid-South Classic being played at the 7,132-yard, par-72 Sand Creek Station.
The Bruins shot an even-par team score of 288 in the first round, followed by 14-over 302 in the second. Bellevue's 14-over (590) score has them in seventh place in the 12-team field.
Wayland Baptist (-8) and MidAmerica Nazarene (-5) hold the top two spots on the team leaderboard with Kansas Wesleyan (+3), Mount Mercy (+4), and Friends (+7) fighting it out for third.
Dylan Rodgers' first-round score of 71 was sparked by five birdies and nine pars, offsetting four bogeys. He posted a 3-under 33 on the back nine. In the second round, Rodgers posted a 4-over to finish the day at 3-over. He is one of four golfers – all Bruins – tied for 20th place in the 75-golfer field.
Cayden Wynne registered four birdies in the opening round, finishing at 2-over par. He parred 16 holes en route to firing a 4-over 76 in the second round and is currently in a tie at 20th place at 3-over par.
After finishing 3-over par on the front nine, Ludwig Klingspor parred every hole on the back nine to register a 3-over 75 in the first round. He carded an even par 72 in the second round, highlighted by an eagle on No. 16.
Despite a double bogey on the par-4 eighth hole, Kyle Dale registered seven birdies in the first round, carding a 4-under par 68. He slumped to an 8-over second round and is tied for 24th at 4-over through 36 holes.
Cole Fedderson improved on his first-round score of 11-over 83 by four strokes and finished the day at 18-over par and in a tie for 66th place.
Thomas Gatlin and Randy Christiansen completed as individuals on the opening day. Gatlin is currently tied for 20th place, along with Rodgers, Klingspor, and Wynne, at 3-over. He followed up an even par first round with a 3-over second.
Christiansen is 6-over through two rounds of play. He shot 4-over in the first round, followed up by a 2-over second round.
Kansas Wesleyan's Jackson Malone and MidAmerica Nazarene's Josh Killingsworth share the individual lead at 6-under through two rounds. They shot matching 4-under first rounds and 2-under second rounds.
Wednesday's final round will begin with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
