AWENDAW, S.C. (March 24, 2024) – ETSU's Mats Ege and Algot Kleen sit in the top-10 following first round play of the Hootie at Bulls Bay, which started Sunday morning at Bulls Bay Golf Club.
 
Ege sits three shots off the lead as he's tied for fourth at 2-under-par 70, while Kleen is tied for seventh at 1-under-par 71. The Bucs started the round on the back nine where Ege birdied both par-5s and made the turn at one-under. From there, Ege strung together three straight birdies; however, the Buccaneer All-American posted a double-bogey and bogey on No. 4 and No. 5, moving him back to one-under. Ege carded a birdie on the par-3, 178-yard No. 7 and finished with back-to-back pars to post the 70. Kleen finished the round strong as he was two-over through his first 11 holes before registering three birdies over his next four holes and totaled the 71.
 
Ege is one of three golfers tied for fourth, while Kleen is one of eight tied for seventh. Ege's six birdies on Sunday were the second-most in the field of 81 golfers.
 
West Virginia's Max Green holds the first-round lead at 5-under 67. LSU's Connor Gaunt and College of Charleston's Max Dupree are tied for second at 3-under 69.
 
LSU holds the team lead as the No. 37 Tigers are at 4-under-par 284 and hold a two-shot advantage over No. 19 New Mexico.
 
ETSU is tied for third with host South Carolina at 1-under-par 287.
 
The Bucs' other two countable scores came from Matty Dodd-Berry and Remi Chartier. Dodd-Berry is tied for 15th at even-par 72, while Chartier is tied for 31st at 2-over-par 74.
 
ETSU will be grouped with West Virginia and College of Charleston in Monday's second round. The Bucs go out starting at 9 a.m. from No. 1.
 
Fans can follow live scoring via Golfstat.com.
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's golf page.