MOBILE, Ala. – The Valdosta State men's golf team opened the 2023 Gulf South Conference Championship with a 300 and is ninth heading into Monday's second round.  Shorter leads the ten-team field with a 2-under 286 on the par 72, 7,212-yard Robert Trent Jones at Magnolia Grove Golf Course.
 
Following Shorter, No. 5 West Florida and No. 3 Lee are tied for second at 289, while Mississippi College and Union are tied for fourth at 293. Christian Brothers sits sixth at 294, followed by a tie for seventh between Montevallo and West Georgia at 298.  VSU is ninth, followed by Delta State at 301.
 
Individually, Lee's Oliver Lewis-Perkins leads the field with a 5-under 67, while Shorter's Isaac MacNaughton is second at 4-under 68.  There is a three-way tie for third as 13 golfers shot even par or better.  The tournament started late due to rain early this morning as the field began on both the front and back nine.
 
For the Blazers, sophomore Chase Long fired a 73 to lead the team, followed by sophomore Parker Highsmith, who carded a 75 as he is tied for 26^th, while both freshman Joshua Burki and senior Chase Weathers each shot a 76 as they are tied for 34^th.  Freshman Ty Folsom fired an 80 to tie for 46^th.
 
VSU had 51 pars and 11 birdies in the opening round as play is scheduled to begin Monday at 7:30 a.m. CT.  Check back with vstateblazers.com Monday afternoon for a complete recap and stats of the second round.