Union City’s Brody Riley was seventh, and his teammate, Gavin McGuire, ranked 16th among a field of 64 golfers after the first round of the Class A State Tournament.
Riley carded a 2-over par 74 while McGuire shot 78 (+6) on Day 1 of the 36-hole event being played at the Sevierville Golf Club in East Tennessee.
Signal Mountain’s Sam Otwell fired a 4-under par 68 to take the opening round lead, and was one of just two players to break par.
The lone senior on this year’s Tornado squad, Riley posted two birdies on the back-nine while shooting an even-par 36. He had a stretch of nine consecutive pars from Nos. 4-12 and finished with a pair of bogeys on each side to come in with a 38-36.
In all, Riley recorded 12 pars.
McGuire also finished with 12 pars, including six in a row on the back-nine (Holes 13-18) on his way to a 38-40.
A triple-bogey on No. 11 was a brief setback, but he rebounded and played the final seven holes in one-over par.
“(I was) really proud of both guys and the way they settled in,” UC head coach Jason Qualls said. “They each had a couple of hiccups, but they didn’t let that affect the next shot and the next hole.
“To have both of them in the Top 20 after the first day is quite the accomplishment. I look forward to Friday and them both finishing strong.”
McGuire is set to tee off at 9:25 a.m. today in his second round, with Riley scheduled to go off 11 minutes later.