ROCKY FACE, Ga. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golf coach Mark Guhne patted two of his freshmen on the back and told them, "Welcome to college golf."
But he's not nearly as happy as Alabama coach Jay Seawell is with his freshman duo after their first day of the Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament at The Farm Golf Club.
Crimson Tide freshmen Cory Whitsett (the 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur champion) and Bobby Wyatt (who fired a 57 earlier this summer in the Alabama Boys' Championship) each shot 3 under par to help Alabama shoot an 8-under 280 for the first-round lead.
"I believe this is a year where there is a lot of turnover for a lot of teams, but there is a lot of good young talent out here," Seawell said. "Cory and Bobby birdied their first hole, so that was good. Any time you can shoot under par at the Farm, it's a good day, and we're very excited to have shot 8 under."
Auburn's Blayne Barber and Clemson's David Dannelly shot 5-under 67s to lead the individual contest.
Clemson trails Alabama by three shots, Auburn is third at 3 under, Georgia Tech is fourth at 1 under and Georgia is fifth at even-par.
UTC is in seventh place after shooting 2-over 290, its best first-round score in four Carpet Capitals.
Sophomore Steven Fox led the Mocs with a 69 and is tied for third in the medalist race. Junior Stephan Jaeger shot 71 and is tied for 10th.
Those numbers were somewhat expected from Guhne's perspective. The 75s shot by freshmen Davis Bunn and Chris Robb pleased him for day one.
"I think they handled it pretty well, and I was pleased with today's result," Guhne said. "It's hard for a freshman to step in here and play great for three days. It's another level and I think our guys handled it well."
The first-year Mocs began their day with an intimidating tee shot on the par-4 10th. Robb and Bunn navigated their first hole for pars. Robb made three bogeys later in the day and no birdies or ugly numbers.
"I played OK, I suppose, but it was good to get started in college golf," said Robb, who redshirted last spring after arriving from Scotland. "I've been waiting a while. It was a semester of practicing and watching everybody else go off to tournaments."
Bunn had two birdies on each side, countered by four bogeys and a double-bogey.
"I was nervous on the first tee, but after a couple pars I settled in," Bunn said. "For my first college round, it's good experience, but I wish it could have been better."