The No. 4 ranked Emory men's golf team began play at the White Sands Collegiate in The Bahamas on Friday morning, competing against a field comprised entirely of NCAA Division I opponents. After 18 holes, the Eagles find themselves in ninth place out of 12 teams after shooting a 290 (+2).
 
Leading the way is the College of Charleston after carding a 271 (-17) and Houston right behind in second place after turning in a 272 (-16). Also competing at the event were Ball State, UC San Diego, Eastern Michigan, George Mason, Maryland, Northern Illinois, Ohio University, Rutgers, and West Virginia. The event is being played at the Ocean Golf Club's Par-72, 6,843-yard course.
 
As a team, the Eagles were incredibly strong on Par 4s, being the fifth-best team on such holes after shooting five over as a team. Emory tapped in 19 birdies on Friday, being the seventh best at the event.
 
Leading the charge for Emory was sophomore Brady Lagendyk, shooting the Eagles' lone score under par with a 71 (-1). The sophomore was dialed in on Friday, having just two bogeys during his round to go with three birdies on top of 13 pars. He was the only Eagle to birdie the course's 10^th hole, a Par-4, 428-yard hole. He was one of just eight players to birdie the hole. Lagendyk finds him right in the thick of it, tied for 20^th out of 74 golfers and eight strokes off Houston's Wolfgang Glawe who shot a dominant 63 (-9).
 
Senior Josh Qian was right behind, carding a 72 (E) during his opening 18 holes. He opened his round with alternating between birdie and bogey for his first four holes before he settled in. He went into the final six holes two strokes over par, but knocked in two birdies and four pars over that span to keep his score at par. He will head into Saturday tied for 28^th.
 
Senior Tony Li had one of the best rounds of any Eagle, having four birdies, one bogey and 12 pars. Yet, a quadruple bogey on the course's 18^th hole, a 483-yard Par-4, kept his score above par on the day. His final score after 18 holes was a 73 (+1) to be tied for 39^th heading into Saturday. Li was also one of just eight players to record a birdie on the course's third hole.
 
Junior Brian Hanson had a nice day in the Bahamas with a 74 (+2). He did not record any holes worse than bogey while knocking in three birdies on his day. He enters Saturday tied for 48^th place.
 
Senior Michael Burry struggled on Friday, shooting a 79 (+7) in his opening round. His opening half of his round was solid, being even after nine holes. However, he found trouble after that, including a quadruple bogey and a double bogey to see his score inflate to seven over par and find himself tied for 65^th.
 
Emory also brought sophomore Kevin Mu to the event to compete as an individual. Mu had a very nice day, shooting three birdies and four bogeys to card a 73 (+1) on his day. He sits tied for 39^th heading into round two.
 
The second round of the White Sands Collegiate will start with an 8:00 AM shotgun start on Saturday.