Navy Golf Stands Ninth Through Two Rounds of Fireline Invite

March 26, 2011

â€¢ 2011 Fireline Towson Invitational - Day 1 Results

GRASONVILLE, Md. - Navy senior team captain Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) turned in an even-par 144 to lead the Navy golf team to a ninth-place standing after two rounds of the 54-hole Fireline Towson Invitational held at Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Md. on Saturday. The Midshipmen finished the day with a 40-over par 616.

Despite sunny skies, the 17-team field battled cool temperatures upon the picturesque Eastern Shore Saturday. Kent State (296-285 - 581) owns a commanding lead with one round remaining, firing off a 5-over par 581. The Golden Flashes held a narrow five-stroke lead following the first round, but scorched the field over the second 18 holes with a 3-under par 285. The host Towson Tigers (301-301 - 602) are 21 strokes back in second place with a 26-over par 602, followed by Rhode Island (307-298 -605) in third, Seton Hall (308-299 - 607) in fourth and Loyola (304-304 - 608) rounds out the top five.

Following the opening round of play, the Mids were tied with Loyola for fourth, shooting a 16-over par 304. However, the Mids were one of the few teams whose scores dropped in the second round. In fact, Navy shot a 24-over par 312 in its final round of the day to drop back to ninth in the standings with a 40-over par 616 (304-312). Navy trails eighth-place Longwood by three strokes and is seven strokes behind Georgetown and George Mason who are locked in sixth.

Hayes (72-72) put together a spectacular performance on the opening day, turning in back-to-back par rounds to settle into second place in the individual standings. He trails tournament leader John Hahn of Kent State by two strokes and leads the Golden Flashes' Mackenzie Hughes and Brett Cairns who are tied for third with a 1-over par. Hahn was the 2009 medalist at this tournament, while Hughes claimed medalist recognition a year ago by turning in a course-record 66 in the final round.

Sitting in 17th place and just three strokes out of the top 10 is freshman Drew Selby (Charlotte, N.C.), who opened the tournament by shooting par before sliding back in the standings following his second-round 79 (+7). This is Selby's first tournament appearance since placing 68th in the season-opening Navy Fall Classic last September.

Junior Peter Reilly (Merrimack, N.H.) stands 33rd with a 10-over par 154. He opened with a 3-over par 75, but like Selby, fell back in the standings with a 7-over par 79 over the final 18 holes.

Rounding out Navy's lineup are freshmen Chris House (Raleigh, N.C.) (85-82 -167) in 78th and Sean Murphy (Hudson, Ohio) (91-84 - 175) in 90th. Like Selby, House and Murphy are playing in just their second-collegiate tournaments, having also last played at the Navy Fall Classic.

Weather permitting, the final round of the Fireline Towson Invitational will tee off at 8:00 am Sunday.

### Go Navy ###