PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - A strong back-nine performance propelled the Navy men's golf team (302, +14) to a 7-stroke lead over Lehigh following the opening round of the Patriot Spring Intercollegiate on Monday afternoon The four-team, 36-hole tournament is being played at the 6694-yard, par-72 PGA National Estates Golf Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Navy junior Connor Tallman (Lake Oswego, Ore.) capped off his opening round with an eagle on the 18th, closing out the day atop the individual leader board by shooting par. He hit the par-5 525-yard hole in two shots before calmly draining the 20-footer for his eagle three. He will enter Tuesday's final round with a 2-stroke advantage over a trio of competitors in second place, including teammates Eric Terminello (So./White Plains, N.Y.) and Matt Starobin (Fr./Davidsonville, Md.). Both Starobin and Terminello are playing as individuals in the tournament and their scores do not count towards the Mids' team total.

Junior Ben Allen (San Marino, Calif.) is tied for five with a 3-over par 75 after closing the day with nine consecutive pars and a birdie on the last. Meanwhile, rookie Griffin Peters (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) birdied the 18th to shoot 76 and stands seventh. Sophomore Thomas Fricke (Haymarket, Va.) is tied for 19th with a 7-over par 79 and senior team captain David Won (Bothell, Wash.) stands 32nd with a 15-over par 87.

With the Naval Academy off for spring break, the Mids' entire roster made the trip to Florida. In addition to Terminello and Starobin, seven other Navy players competed as individuals - Devin Terry (Jr./La Crosse, Wis.) is tied for fifth (+3), Paul Mauer (Fr./Eagleville, Pa.) is tied for 13th (+5), Ethan Mead (So./Charlotte, N.C.) is tied for 19th (+7), Eashwar Thenpattinam (So./San Jose, Calif.) is 25th (+10), Garrett Moyer (Sr./Annapolis, Md.) is 29th (+13) and Zeke Shaffer (Sr./Radford, Va.) and Gregory Sibick (Fr.Williamsville, N.Y.) are tied for 33rd (+17).

"The guys who scored well all showed a great deal of determination and mental toughness coming down the stretch," said Navy head coach Pat Owen. "It was nice to see the younger guys on our team posting some good scores and gaining valuable tournament experience.

The Midshipmen hold a 7-stroke advantage over Lehigh who finished Monday's opening round with a 21-over par 309. Bucknell is in third with a 23-over par 311, while UMass-Lowell stands fourth with a 35-over par 323.

"The greens here are extremely firm, and I am sure it will be windy again tomorrow, so we expect another tough test of golf."

Tuesday's final round is slated to begin at 8:00 AM.

### Go Navy ###