Underclassmen guide Louisville to 4-shot Linger Longer lead

Led by sub-70 rounds from a pair of underclassmen, Louisville got out to a four-shot lead in the opening round of the Linger Longer Invitational. It wasn’t a banner weather day at the Landing at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga., but the Cardinals dove to 10 under anyway.

Between them, sophomore Matthias Schmid and freshman Jiri Zuska had 12 birdies, many of which came on the back. Zuska closed his day with four birdies in the final five holes for a 7-under 65. Schmid, meanwhile, started slow with a bogey on his second hole, but quickly rebounded with a birdie at No. 5 and an eagle at No. 6. He had 5-under 67.

Schmid, from Germany, was selected to the International Palmer Cup team last week courtesy of his position in the rankings.

The Cardinals are looking to come back from a top-5 finish at the General Hackler Championship last week.

Two teams are tied for second behind them, including Liberty and University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Both of those teams finished the first round at 6 under.

Georgia and Ohio State are tied for fourth at 3 under.

Zuska leads the individual race and is followed closing by Schmid and Charlotte’s Marc Boucher.