Bulldogs in eighth after day one at Lonnie Barton Invitational

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University golf team kicked off spring play Monday at the Lonnie Barton Invitational at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., finishing its first round of 2015 action in eighth place in the 11-team field.

Junior Joe Walp (Portland, Maine) and sophomore Ryan Tombs (Bedford, N.H.) led the Bulldogs in the team competition, each carding a first-round 78 to tie for 14th overall. Junior Kyle Buschmann (East Haddam, Conn.) is also inside the top 30 in the 65-player field with an 81 (tied for 27).

But it was junior Nicholas Marotta (Orange, N.Y.), playing as an individual, who scored the best round of any Bulldog on the day, entering Tuesday action tied for seventh overall after an opening-round 76. Sophomore McKinley Slade (Saunderstown, R.I.) carded an 82 to tie for 35th as an individual, while senior Conor McGovern (Darien, Conn.) came in knotted for 59th with a Monday 92, with his score counting toward Bryant's day one 329.

LIU Brooklyn leads the Lonnie Barton Invitational with a 298 in Monday action, paced by Blackbirds George Williams and Kyle Maihi, who are tied for first on the individual circuit with a first-lap 73. Central Connecticut (308), Saint Francis U. (309), Siena (321) and Fairfield (321) rounded out the top-five teams.

Play resumes Tuesday morning for the final day of Lonnie Barton Invitational action.