FARRAGUT, Tenn. --- Former Tusculum College golfer Chase Carroll carded an even-par round of 72 in his Nationwide Tour debut following day one action of the 2011 News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot.
Carroll is tied for 108th place in the 156-player field, which is being contested at the Fox Den Country Club. John Mallinger and Sunghoon Kang each fired rounds of 63 (-9) to share the first round lead.
Carroll opened strong with a birdie four on his first hole of the day on the par-five No. 10. He followed with six straight pars, but stumbled with back-to-back bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes.
He bounced back on No. 1 with a birdie and finished his day with eight consecutive pars to post 72.
Carroll received a sponsor's exemption into this week's $500,000 tournament, which is a homecoming of sorts for the Knoxville native as he played at Fox Den most of his life and has even caddied for three Nationwide Tour events on his home course.
Carroll will begin his second round at 9:20 a.m. on Friday.
From 2005-2009, Carroll accounted for the most decorated playing career in Tusculum golf history. In 2009, he earned a spot on the Division II PING All-America Team, becoming the third golfer in school history to earn All-America distinction and the first since Tusculum became a NCAA Division II member.
Carroll established a school and South Atlantic Conference single-season record with his 72.08 stroke average, earning him SAC Player of the Year honors. The three-time All-SAC performer also posted the best scoring average in Tusculum history at 74.29, which is the second lowest in the league record book.
He captured medalist honors three times during his senior campaign (2008-09), including individual titles at the Honda Columbia Classic, Tusculum Fall Classic and the South Atlantic Conference Championship, marking the second time he has garnered SAC Tournament MVP honors in his career. The Bearden High School graduate shared Tusculum Male Athlete of the Year accolades in 2008-09.
During his stellar career, Carroll won six tournaments, which is tied for the most in school history with former All-American and Tusculum Sports Hall of Famer Todd Ricker (1992-96). He recorded 22 sub-par rounds in his career (new school record), including a TC-best 11 rounds below par this season.
Carroll was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® First Team. Carroll graduated from Tusculum in May 2009 with a 3.87 cumulative grade point average with a degree in Business Management. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete for Men's Golf for a third straight year. He is also a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District IV selection. He was named to the Dean's List, President's list, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
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