OWENSBORO, Ky. – The McKendree University men's golf team opened play here Saturday by firing an impressive 15-under par score of 273 to sit in first place out of 15 teams at the Kentucky Wesleyan College Fall Invitational held at The Pearl Club.
 
McKendree's 273 was its lowest 18-hole round so far this season to date and the Bearcats lead the field of 15 teams by nine shots as Southern Indiana is second with a 6-under par 282. Wisconsin-Parkside and Davenport are in third and fourth place after shooting first round scores of 295 and 296.
 
Leading the way for the Bearcats was sophomore Griffin St. Pierre (Troy, Mo./Troy Buchanan) sits atop the individual leaderboard as he shot an opening round score of 7-under par 65. The 65 is the lowest career round in St. Pierre's collegiate career.
 
St. Pierre leads by two shots over sophomore Fabian Wennerlof (Onsala, Sweden/Katrinelundgymnasiet), who shot a 5-under par 67 to sit in second place overall.
 
A third Bearcat is in the Top 5 after Saturday's opening round as senior Rasmus Nilsson (Stockholm, Sweden/Danderyds Gymnasium) shot a 3-under par 69 to sit in a tie for fifth place.
 
Those three Bearcat golfers are amongst a group of 10 golfers that shot under par in the first round.
 
The fourth counter for the Bearcats was senior Phasin Vichitcharoenpaisarn (Bangkok, Thailand/The American School of Bangkok) as he fired an opening round score of even-par 72 to sit in a tie for 11th place overall.
 
Sophomore Thomas Tollefsen (Tonsberg, Norway/Wang Toppidrett Tonsberg) was the fifth golfer for the Bearcats as he fired a four-over par 76 to sit in a tie for 34th place.
 
In addition, freshman Ciaran Paterson (Edinburgh, Scotland/West Calder) fired an opening round score of 3-over par 75 to sit in a tie for 26th place.
 
The Bearcats and the other 15 teams will conclude play in the two-day event by playing another 18 holes on Sunday, Oct. 30 beginning with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m.