NEED TO KNOW:
Piedmont Leader: T-7th: Adam Rogers, 68, -1 through 16 in 2nd Round (-5)
As a Team: 7th of 18
Event Information: 18 teams; 96 golfers
The Course: Forest Oaks CC (Greensboro, N.C.; Par 72)

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Piedmont men's golf is off to a strong start at the Gate City Invitational, firing an under par team score in Round One and following it up with another strong performance in Round Two before play was suspended in the late stages of the round due to darkness.

Two Lions are under par for the tournament and in the hunt, as Adam Rogers posted a first round of 4-under 68 while Jacob DeJesus is 4-under total with one hole to play in his second round.

Beginning the day in a shotgun start, the Lions raced out to a quick start, even holding a share of the lead early. Rogers's opening round 68 marked his third under par round already this fall. The sophomore from Vero Beach, Florida made six total birdies including four in a five hole stretch.

 

Piedmont only counted one score over par in its first round, a 1-over 73 from Connor Lane as all four counting scores from the Lions each carded multiple birdies on their rounds.

Sophomores Doug Gugel and DeJesus each fired even par rounds of 72 in support of Rogers to help the Lions shoot a 3-under team score in Round One. 

After a somewhat slow start to their second round, the Lions roared back with strong finishes. Each Lion was either under par or even par over the final few holes as all five players completed at least 16 holes with DeJesus the only one to make it through 17.

DeJesus led the group, sitting 4-under for his round with just one hole to play. The sophomore is looking for his third round in the 60's this fall. DeJesus closed strong, making birdie on four of his last seven holes played.

Rogers was able to push his total score to -5 and is in a tie for seventh on the individual leaderboard, just three strokes off the lead. 

After shooting a non-counting 5-over 77 in the first round, Cam Lucas is even par through 16 holes in Round Two, with a birdie and a bogey.

Lane and Gugel are holding steady as well, with Lane at 1-over and Gugel at 2-over with two holes each to play.

Washington & Lee sits atop the team leaderboard at -18, followed by Methodist at -16.

The event will conclude tomorrow morning with the finishing few holes of the second round before the final round immediately following.

COACH'S CORNER: Hear from Head Coach Dustin Meadows Following the Day
"I thought we did a lot of things really well today. On a long day at that. Where I think we faltered was towards the end of the first round we got ahead of ourselves and made some mistakes bringing home the round."

"Very proud of how we are fighting to get back in it. We have to put a ribbon on the second round and just play the holes that are in front of us. If we do that, we can do something special tomorrow."

LIONS ON THE LEADERBOARD:
T-7th: Adam Rogers, 68, -1 through 16
T-12th: Jacob DeJesus, 72, -4 through 17
T-57th: Doug Gugel, 72, +2 through 16
T-57th: Connor Lane, 73, +1 through 16
T-71st: Cam Lucas, 77, E through 16

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Rogers fired his second round in the 60's, as his 4-under 68 in the first round tied his career best.

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