Tosti leads all golfers after Day 1

TEAM LEADERBOARD

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Florida's Alejandro Tosti holds the lead after shooting 7-under 133 after the opening day of the Southeastern Conference Men's Golf Championship on Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course.

The first day of competition consisted of two 18-hole rounds of stroke play competition.

Tosti opened up with birdies on the first two holes, eventually scoring 4-under on the front nine. Tosti rebounded from his only bogey on 17 by scoring his seventh birdie on 18.

"That start really helped a lot," Tosti said. "I was hitting it really well and got a lot of confidence. It was a really good day. I was happy with the way I played."

Tosti cooled off in the second round, shooting 1-under 69 due to a bogey on seven and a double-bogey on 16. Despite a shaky second round, the Florida sophomore was able to hold off Vanderbilt's Patrick Martin. Martin closed the day out in sole possession of second place with a 6-under 134.

Ole Miss sophomore Braden Thornberry sits in third place with a 5-under 135. Four golfers are tied for fourth at 3-under 137.

On the strength of a first-round 7-under 273, Texas A&M grabbed the team lead.

The Aggies had loops of 273 and 2-over 282 for a total of 5-under 555. Texas A&M is two shots clear of Vanderbilt (3-under 557) and three ahead of Florida (2-under 558).

"In the first round, the course was there for the taking with soft greens and no wind, and our guys took advantage of it," Texas A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "In the afternoon, it was a completely different golf course because of the wind. I was really proud of how our guys kept it together with a really nice score. They hung in there and passed the test. ... For Saturday, we just need to stick to the game plan, hit quality shots and make it to Sunday."

The Aggies were paced by top-8 efforts from Chandler Phillips (137), Cameron Champ (137) and Brandon Smith (138).

Following Saturday's 18 holes, the low eight teams will advance to match play on Sunday. The top eight after Friday were Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Missouri, Auburn and South Carolina. The Gamecocks are three shots ahead of Ole Miss, the ninth-place team, entering Saturday's competition.

The conference individual medalist will be crowned after Saturday's round.