Cress, Dukes Have Strong Start at Seminole Intercollegiate

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Freshman Walker Cress set a new career low for the second time in three rounds on Friday, pacing the James Madison men's golf team on the opening day of the Seminole Intercollegiate, hosted by Florida State at the par-72, 7,121-yard Southwood Golf Course.

Cress opened his tournament with an eagle, then fired birdies on three of his final four holes to close his round at 3-under 69, tied for 12th at the 81-player tournament and just three shots off the lead. The round bests his career low, a 2-under 70 at the Tiger Invitational earlier this week, by a single stroke.

As a team, the Dukes had all four of its scorers shoot par or better since the Janney VCU Shootout on Sept. 20, 2016, posting a 6-under 282 to claim sole position of sixth place out of 14 teams. JMU is one stroke behind No. 31 Jacksonville, which sits in fifth at 7-under 281.

Junior Jack Floydd continued his stretch of solid play, racking up 14 pars and a trio of birdies to end the day tied for 20th at 2-under 70, his lowest round in a full tournament since a 4-under 68 to open the season at the Golfweek Program Challenge on Sept. 11, 2016.

Senior Ryan Cole and sophomore Alex Henderson wrapped up the Dukes' scoring on the day, posting respective rounds of 1-under 71 and even-par 72 to tie for 30th and 39th. Junior Matt Cowgill bounced back from early struggles, playing his final 15 holes in just one over on his way to a 7-over 79 that has him tied for 77th.

Playing as an individual, sophomore Shota Ozaki closed his day at 3-over 75, tying him for 66th after one round.

QUOTING COACH FORBES
"This was certainly a better start for us than earlier this week. We need to step it up even more, especially against some tough competition at this tournament, so we'll build on this tomorrow."

PAR 5 MASTERY
Freshman Walker Cress excelled on the course's longest holes on Friday, using an eagle on the 547-yard opener en route to going 3-under across the four par-5 holes at Southwood Golf Course. That mark was tied for the fifth-best par-5 performance of any competitor at the Seminole Intercollegiate.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back on the course on Saturday, March 11, for the second round of the Seminole Intercollegiate. JMU will go off the first tee beginning at 9:25 a.m. alongside fourth-place West Virginia and fifth-place Jacksonville. Live results will be provided at GolfStat.com.

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