ORLANDO, Fla. -- VCU had four players finish in the top ten, including clubhouse leader Ugo Malcor, to take an 11-stroke lead following the first round of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Men’s Golf Championship at Evermore Orlando Resort. 

The Rams posted 20 birdies, five of which belong to Malcor, who also had an eagle on hole 13. He leads the field with a four-under 68. His teammates Mattias Varjun and Tim Chan each carded a 69 in the first round to tie for second. Davidson’s Will Davis is also one stroke back with a 69, equaling Varjun and Chan.

Grayson Wood, VCU’s fourth scoring golfer, tied for seventh with a one-under 71, helping the black and gold Rams to finish with a 277, 11 under par. VCU’s fifth golfer was Veikka Viskari, who tied for 20^th with a 74.

Three-time defending champion Davidson and Dayton tied for second with a 288. Davis led the Wildcats efforts while defending medalist Alex Heffner tied for fifth with a two-under 870. Heffner also eagled 13. Josh Stewart was Davidson’s other top-10 finisher with a 71, tying for seventh. The Flyers had four players in the top 15, paced by Breckin Taylor’s 71, matching Stewart and four others. Jacob Garland and Colin O’Rourke tied for 13, each shooting a even 72 for UD, while Henry May the 2022 medalist and most outstanding rookie tied for 15^th.

George Washington was fourth with a 290, followed by George Mason and St. Bonaventure, which tied for fifth with a 295. Bonnies Lance Sininger scored a 70, joining Malcor, Varjun, Davis, Chan and Heffner in the top five.  The Revolutionaries Jed Dy and Rodrigo Barahona each tied for seventh with a 71 to round out the top 10 finishers. Dy and Sininger each picked up an eagle, with Sininger scoring a three on hole two and Dy doing the same on hole 13.

In all there were six eagles, Ben Battye, of La Salle scored a two on the par four hole 14, and Rhode Island’s Geronimo Narizzano joining Sininger with an eagle on hole two.

Richmond is in seventh after the first round with a 299, followed by La Salle in eighth (302) and Rhode Island in ninth (307).  Loyola Chicago (308), Fordham (309) and Saint Joseph’s (316) completed the first round scoring.

Round two begins Saturday at 7:30 am off holes number one and nine on the Grand Cypress Course. The championship concludes Sunday with the third round. The winner earns the Atlantic 10 bid to NCAA Regionals.