Doyle, Johnson share First Round New Year's Inv. Lead

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (January 4, 2018) - After a cold, windy first round of the New Year's Invitational hosted by St. Petersburg Country Club, the leaderboard is tight but so far it is Ben Doyle and Tyler Johnson leading the way. Both players opened in 1-under 71 and they will carry a slim one-stroke lead over five others at level-par into the second round. Any round at or near par was a good round on a day where the temperatures struggled to get out of the 40s, with a brisk north wind increasing through the afternoon. Only 13 scores below 75 were recorded by the 115-player field. Doyle, a redshirt junior at Cal, has played in three events this year with his best finish coming at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational where he shared 25th. Johnson, a redshirt freshman for Middle Tennessee, is coming off an impressive first semester of college golf. In five tournaments Johnson had a pair of top-10 showings and was named the C-USA Player of the Week late in September. The second place group includes Ben Albin (Notre Dame), Jimmy Jones (USF), Davis Lamb (Notre Dame), Andre Leveque (USF) and Michael Mattiace (North Florida). Defending champion Hayden Buckley (Missouri) is currently four back after opening in 3-over 75. MID-AMATEUR DIVISION In the Mid-Amateur Division longtime FSGA stalwart Joe Alfieri, Winston Ball and Joe Lyons are all sharing the lead following 4-over 76's. Five players are just one back after 5-over 77's. SENIOR DIVISION The lead in the Senior Division belongs to Gordan Marshall who able to sign for an impressive even-par 72. Four back in second place at 4-over is Jimmy Jones Sr. while in third at 6-over is Greg Hendrix.