The No. 2 ranked Emory men's golf team made the trip to Sandestin, Florida to compete in the annual Golfweek October Classic over the next few days. The field is comprised of some of the nation's top teams and is being hosted at The Raven Golf Club's Par-71, 6,623-yard course.
 
After the first of three rounds, the Eagles find themselves in 19^th after shooting a 296 (+12) on the opening day of the event. #21 Sewanee is the day one leader after turning in a 273 (-11) while #6 Washington & Lee sits right behind in second with a 274 (-10) on day one.
 
Despite solid rounds from each golfer in the Eagles lineup, most had one or two poor holes that inflated their scores. As a team, Emory racked up 56 pars and 11 birdies, but also compiled five holes where they recorded a double bogey or worse. The Eagles struggled on Par 5s, shooting six strokes over par on such holes as a team.
 
The Eagles saw two golfers shoot a 73 (+2) with junior Brian Hanson and senior Tony Li both turning in a score two strokes over par. Hanson knocked in 11 pars and three birdies, but three bogeys and a double bogey kept his score hovering above par. Li had a dominant front nine, shooting two-under par in the opening half of his round. His back nine was not as consistent, though, as he turned in four bogeys along with five pars. The two will head into the second day of the event tied for 50^th and seven strokes off the co-leaders, Methodist's Chase Walts and Sewanee's Colin Edwards.
 
Senior Michael Burry stumbled out of the gate, shooting three-over par on the front nine. He reigned it in on the back nine, knocking in six pars, one birdie and two bogeys to keep him at a 75 (+4) for the day. He sits tied for 82^nd heading into Monday's round.
 
Joining Burry in shooting a 75 (+4) was freshman Zach Pelzar. The rookie had an up-and-down day, earning four birdies to go along with nine pars but recorded three double bogeys and two bogeys. Pelzar was also the only Eagle to record a birdie on hole four, a 142-yard Par 3 – only 12 other competitors recorded a birdie on the hole. He will also head into Monday tied for 82^nd.
 
Senior Josh Qian Rounds out the scoring for Emory with a 77 (+6) on Sunday. Qian was arguably Emory's most consistent golfer in the first round, firing 14 pars and just three bogeys. However, he struggled on hole 9, a 405-yard par-four, when he finished out for triple bogey to keep his score well over par. He enters the second round tied for 97^th.
 
The Eagles will look to ascend the leader board tomorrow when they tee off in the second round of the Golfweek October Classic. Emory's first tee time is at 8:25 AM, with Qian being the first to head out.