IRVING, TX - The Swarthmore College men's golf team opened its spring season at the University of Dallas' Crusader Cup on Monday. The Garnet currently sit in third place and four strokes off the leader. 

Swarthmore carded a 315 (+27) in the opening round, trailing No. 23 LeTourneau and Southern Nazarene by four strokes. Dylan Zhang, Frank Zhou and Phelps Wang all tied for ninth overall at six-over-par. The individual leader currently leads at three-under. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Zhang opened the spring season with a 78 (+6) to tie for ninth overall after the opening round. The senior was steady on the front nine, shooting one-over-par, but faced some adversity on his final nine holes. 

- Zhou kept pace with his teammates, shooting a 78 (+6) to break the top-10. The rookie was four-over on the front nine, but settled in nicely after carding a birdie on the tenth hole. 

- Wang matched both Zhang and Zhou with a 78 (+6) to share ninth place. The junior registered a pair of birdies on the front nine, but fell victim to a handful of bogeys down the stretch. 

- Michael Yuen is tied for 27th after shooting an 81 (+9) to open the tournament. The rookie turned in the team's best hole of the day, carding an eagle on the par-five third. Yeung ran into some trouble later in the round, but birdied the final hole to end the afternoon on a positive note. 

- Max Ash rounded out the team's competitors at 12-over-par, earning a birdie on the eighth hole to headline his afternoon. He currently sits in 40th overall. 

- Phillip Kim competed as an individual, registering an 81 (+9) to draw even with Yuen. The rookie started off slowly but found his rhythm on the back nine, closing the round with a birdie on the 18th.

UP NEXT
The Garnet aim to finish strong in tomorrow's final round, entering the day in contention for the tournament title.