#7 Vols Enter Final Round of Lewis Chitengwa Memorial in First as Lewis Holds Share of Individual Lead

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The seventh-ranked Tennessee men’s golf team is in first place following a dominant showing on day one at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, while Bryce Lewis is tied for first individually.

Tennessee is currently 23-under overall and has a 17-shot lead ahead of the final round. The Vols shot 8-under in round one and held a one stroke lead going into the second round but then separated themselves from the field after shooting 15-under in round two.

Lewis led Tennessee on Monday after shooting 8-under through rounds one and two. He opened the tournament with an even-par 71 and then built upon his momentum to fire an 8-under 63 in round two.

The redshirt senior’s second-round score tied a career-low 18-hole score in relation to par and tied the fourth-best single-round score relative to par in program history.

Lewis was flawless in round two after going bogey-free with eight total birdies—six of which came on the back nine. Throughout the first two rounds, he led the 78-player field in par three scoring (-3) and was second in birdies made (11).

Redshirt freshman Bruce Murphy also provided UT with a quality showing on day one after firing a 3-under 68 in round one and a 4-under 67 in round two, respectively.

Murphy was even-par with two holes left in round one and then proceeded to finish with an eagle and birdie to get to 3-under. The Atlanta native picked up where he left off in round two and notched five birdies en route to his second round 67 and enters the final round in third at 7-under overall.

Evan-Woosley Reed sits two shots back of Murphy tied for fifth at 5-under overall. The sophomore provided UT with its lowest first round score, a 4-under 67, and logged a 1-under 70 in the second round.  

Tennessee’s final player inside the top 10 ahead of Tuesday’s round is Lance Simpson, who sits tied for ninth at 3-under overall.

Simpson opened the event with a 1-under 70 and capped off Monday with a 2-under 69 in the second round.

Competing individually for the Vols, Josh Hill shot 3-over in his first two rounds—including a second-round 71. Hill is tied for 30th going into the final round.

Jake Hall shot a pair of 74s in the first two rounds and is tied for 50th. 

TEAM LEADERBOARD

1. Tennessee, 545 (-23)

2. Florida State, 562 (-2)

T3. Arkansas, 569 (+1)

T3. North Florida, 569 (+1)

5. Northwestern, 570 (+2)

6. Virginia, 572 (+4)

7. Texas State, 573 (+5)

8. Loyola Maryland, 575 (+7)

9. Maryland, 577(+9)

10….