ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Oct. 13, 2023) – The Buccaneers picked up right where they left off. 
 
A few days after hoisting the trophy at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, the No. 11 ETSU men's golf team sits atop the leaderboard after Friday's first round at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. 
 
Facing a stern test at the Golf Club of Georgia Lakeside Course, the Buccaneers aced Part I of their exam as ETSU fired a 13-under-par 275 to grab a three-shot lead over the field featuring five other teams ranked in the top-25 and eight others ranked in the top-50. The Bucs have played in all 49 rounds of this tournament and Friday's score was their lowest ever. ETSU's previous low in this tournament came in 2021 where the Bucs opened with a 279. 
 
The Bucs enter Saturday's second round with their three-stroke advantage over No. 25 Virginia, while No. 39 Wake Forest sits in third at 7-under 281. No. 5 Tennessee and No. 21 Texas A&M are tied for fourth at 6-under 282. 
 
Overall, the Blue & Gold registered a tournament-best 23 birdies on Friday, while also pacing the field in par-4 and par-5 scoring. ETSU played the par-4s at seven-under and the par-5s at 11-under. 
 
Algot Kleen was one of four Bucs to post sub-par rounds on Friday as he carded a 5-under 67 en route to sharing the lead with Virginia's Paul Chang. Kleen and teammate Mats Ege led the field with seven birdies. 
 
The Bucs started out on the back nine on Friday and Kleen totaled four birdies, four pars and a bogey before making the turn. From there, Kleen picked up three more birdies over his last nine holes to finish with a 67. 
 
Ege, who earned medalist honors at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, got hot late to skyrocket up the leaderboard. Ege birdied his last three holes and four of his last five to move into a tie for third at 4-under 68. The reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year was one-over through his first five holes, but played the final 13 at five-under. 
 
Fellow Buccaneer veterans Archie Davies and Remi Chartier accounted for the final two team scores on Friday. The ETSU duo are tied for 13th at 2-under 70. They also put together strong finishes to their round as they combined to play the final nine holes at seven-under. Davies was one-over through his first nine and posted three birdies and six pars following the turn, while Chartier was two-over through his first 12 holes before he turned things around. Chartier's positive momentum started with a birdie on the par-4, 432-yard No. 4, while he then finished with birdie-eagle to post the 70. 
 
ETSU will be grouped with Southern California and No. 12 and host Georgia Tech in Saturday's second round. The Bucs hit the course starting at 9 a.m. 
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's golf tab.