HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - WKU shot its lowest opening round team score of the Phillip Hatchett era and stand in fourth place after 36 holes at the 43rd Annual Huntington Invitational at Guyan Golf & Country Club. Paced by two rounds in the sixties, the Hilltoppers are +7 for the tournament.

"We played very consistent today, having two players deep in the sixties," said Hatchett. "We recorded a 286 in the opening round, but had an inadvertent two stroke penalty that gave us a 288... We went out in the afternoon and had a nice round."

Sophomore Cameron Beal (Bowling Green, Kentucky) shot a career low 66 in the second round and stands in third place overall. Beal is looking for his third career top 20 finish and first top ten finish when play resumes on Tuesday. Beal's second round score tied the lowest round of the Hatchett era at WKU.

After shooting an opening round 68 and being part of a four-way tie for first place, senior Will Beard (Bowling Green, Kentucky) stands in 15th place after two rounds. Beard's opening round score was the lowest first round score by a WKU player in the Hatchett era and a new career low for the Bowling Green native. Beard will seek his fifth top 20 finish of his career on Tuesday.

Senior Logan Edelen (Bardstown, Kentucky) and sophomore Connor Griffiths (Lytham, St. Annes) are tied for 55th after the opening 36 holes. Senior Robert Kirby (Bowling Green, Kentucky) tied a career best 73 in the opening round and stands in 59th place.

WKU is appearing in the Marshall Invitational for the 16th time in program history. The Hilltoppers' best finish in the event is second in 1985-1986. The 2012 event marks Hatchett's second appearance as a coach in the event. He also played in the event as a WKU student-athlete.

Guyan Golf Course was built in 1922 in the east section of Huntington. The course has been the site of numerous tournaments including U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open Qualifiers and the Marshall University Invitational. The par 71 Guyan has also hosted several West Virginia Opens. The first, in 1936, was won by Sam Snead. Snead also qualified for his first U.S. Open at the course. .

The tournament concludes with 18 additional holes on Tuesday beginning at 7:00am CT.

For complete coverage of WKU Golf, visit the official website of WKU Athletics at www.wkusports.com.

Team Standings
1 Virginia Tech 277 271 548 -20
2 Marshall University 282 282 564 -4
3 Ohio State Univ. 282 283 565 -3
4 Western Kentucky U. 288 287 575 +7
5 Xavier University 289 288 577 +9
Miami University(OH) 289 288 577 +9
7 Toledo, U. of 292 289 581 +13
Cleveland State U. 288 293 581 +13
9 Wright State 290 292 582 +14
10 Cincinnati, U. of 294 289 583 +15
11 Wm. & Mary, Coll. of 294 290 584 +16
12 Dayton, Univ. of 298 289 587 +19
13 Richmond, Univ. of 299 289 588 +20
14 Eastern Kentucky U. 301 288 589 +21
Bowling Green State 302 287 589 +21
16 Ohio University 296 299 595 +27

Individual Standings
T 3 Cameron Beal 71 66 137
T 15 Will Beard 68 74 142
T 55 Logan Edelen 74 75 149
T 55 Conor Griffiths 75 74 149
T 59 Robert Kirby 77 73 150

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