Leach leads and MU in third at Crooked Stick Invitational

Day One Results (PDF) | Live Scoring

CARMEL, Indiana – Marquette sophomore Tyler Leach leads the Crooked Stick Invitational at 8-under par following two rounds on Monday at the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana.

The Golden Eagles (291-286—577) are five strokes back of Georgia (283-289—572) for the team lead and three strokes behind Vanderbilt (283-291—574).

Leach (68-68—136) leads Georgia's Davis Thompson (-5, 68-71-139) by three strokes entering Tuesday's final round in search of his fourth career top-10 finish. Reigning BIG EAST Conference Male Golfer of the Week Hunter Eichhorn (69-71—140) is tied for third with Georgia's Spencer Ralston (70-70—140) and Vanderbilt's Reid Davenport (68-72—140) and John Augenstein (67-73—140) at 4-under par. Leach is aiming for his first career collegiate victory, while Eichhorn will compete for his second consecutive medalist honor, third of the season and fifth of his career.

Leach carded consecutive rounds of 68, one stroke shy of a collegiate low, and amassed a total of 13 birdies through 36 holes. The Spring Valley, Wisconsin native posted eight birdies in the second after beginning the round with a triple bogey on No. 7, his third hole. He ended his day with three-straight birdies on holes 2-4.

Marquette moved up the leaderboard in the second round as the lone team under par (2-under). MU sat fourth as a team with a 3-over-par 291 following the first round of competition on Monday morning.

Senior Matt Murlick (81-73—154) helped the Golden Eagles make their move in the second round with 1-over 73 after shooting a 9-over 81 to open the day.

Freshman Aidan Lafferty (75-74—149), playing as part of the MU lineup for the first time in his career is tied for 33rd. Murlick is tied for 57th.

Leach posted the second-lowest first round score with a 4-under 68, while Eichhorn sat a stroke back with a 3-under 69. Each player posted five first-round birdies, while Eichhorn added bogeys on holes four and 18.

Lafferty was 2-under and in the top 10 of the individual standings entering his final three holes of the first round but posted a triple bogey on No. 4. He closed his opening round with bogeys on holes five and six to end at a 3-over 75.

Marquette's 40 birdies on Monday are six more than the No. 2 squad, Vanderbilt. Among counted scores, MU also had five double bogeys and a triple.

Leach's top career finish (T-6) came at the Chatham Hills Collegiate last fall and his best finish this season (T-7) came at Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic at Conway Farms.

The Golden Eagles resume action at Crooked Stick on Tuesday morning at 9:09 a.m. Central time and are paired with Georgia and Vanderbilt.

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