Fuller Fires 4-Under 67; Hilltoppers Tied Fourth on First Day in Sea Palms

Thursday, March 9

St. Simons, Ga.

Western Kentucky University

Hosted by Western Carolina

Fuller Fires 4-Under 67; Hilltoppers Tied Fourth on First Day in Sea Palms

3/9/2023 3:03:00 PM | Men's Golf

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Hilltopper Golf senior captain Luke Fuller fired a 4-under 67 on the opening day of the Sea Palms Invitational hosted by Western Carolina and is tied for seventh in the 120-man field. WKU is tied for fourth just four shots out of the lead after shooting 9-under 275 on the day.

Fuller got as low as five-below at the par-71, 6,664-yard Sea Palms Course on Thursday as he fired off five birdies in six holes. He added up seven total on the day and finished at 4-under 67 due to a bogey on his final hole. He's just one shot off the top five and three off the lead.

Redshirt sophomore Nic Hofman posted a 3-under 68. He had two eagles in his first four holes. A tricky 11th hole pushed him back up to even-par before he made three birdies in his final six holes to get back below par. He is tied for 13th on the leaderboard.

All four of WKU's counting scores were below par on Thursday as sophomore Riley Grindstaff and junior Connery Meyer rounded it out with a pair of 1-under 70's. Grindstaff closed out his round with three straight birdies while Meyer carded birdies on holes 11, 12 and 13. The duo is tied for 31st overall.

Fifth-year senior Landon Carner and individual Aaron Pha turned in even-par 71's on the day and are tied for 42nd individually.

WKU led the day on par 5's at a combined 13-under on those holes. The Hilltoppers' four counting scores were a combined 6-under on the back nine on the day.

WKU will tee off for the second round at 6:10 a.m. CT off of Hole 10 on Friday morning.

Results – First Round
T7. Luke Fuller – 67
T13. Nic Hofman – 68
T31. Riley Grindstaff – 70
T31. Connery Meyer – 70
T42. Landon Carner – 71
T42. Aaron Pha* – 71
*competing as an individual