Bryce Lewis (L) & Colin Bowels lead after 18 holes

Georgia Southern’s Colin Bowles and Tennessee’s Bryce Lewis took control of the top of the leaderboard following the first round of play at Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Georgia. The duo matched each other with a pair of 5-under 65s to claim the overnight share of the lead at the 54-hole event.

Lewis had the cleaner scorecard between the two as he posted six birdies on the day, four of which came over a four-hole stretch (Nos. 9-12). Making just one mistake on the par-4 15th, Lewis cleaned up for his lone bogey of the day.

Bowles also strung together a nice grouping of birdies with three in a row on holes 7-9. Carding a bogey on No. 15 as well, Bowles squared off another on No. 5 which countered his seven birdies.

Lewis’ Volunteer teammate Chip Thomas is just one stroke behind Bowles and Lewis in a three-way tie for second at 4-under.

The elite field is showing its prowess as 27 competitors are under par, no more than four shots behind Bowles and Lewis. Another 12 golfers tallied even-par rounds on Tuesday to keep themselves well within striking range.

Defending 2019 Southeastern champion and tournament course record holder (61) Ben Carr is among those under par. His 1-under 69 keeps finds him four shots back of his Georgia Southern teammate, Bowles.

Play resumes Wednesday morning at 7:30 am ET with action on both the 1st and 10th tees. Live scoring can be found here.