World No. 1 honors late friend with lead at Carpet Capital Collegiate at the Farm

Five teams tied for first; Mocs four back

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

ROCKY FACE, Ga. - Matt Dyas and Ollie Schniederjans were close friends until Dyas died in a motorcycle accident almost three years ago.

Dyas invited Schniederjans to play at The Farm Golf Club a few times a year.

Schniederjans wears a constant reminder of their friendship -- a blue bracelet on his left wrist. It's not easy for the No. 1 amateur golfer in the world to talk about his friend. But it was appropriate on a day when Schniederjans came within one shot of tying the 18-hole tournament record in the Carpet Capital Collegiate at the Farm.

"There's a tie with him to this event and this place," said Schniederjans, who shot an 8-under-par 64 and had a hole-in-one Saturday. "He used to work this tournament when he was in high school."

The bracelet has the initials "MBD" and two phrases: "Still doing it" and "Chasing dreams."

"He used to wear those Nike 'Just Do It' shirts all the time," Schniederjans said. "It will be three years ago this October."

Schniederjans, a Georgia Tech senior who grew up in Powder Springs, Ga., leads the individual competition at 8-under 136. Alabama sophomore Robby Shelton, who is No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, is one stroke back. Miller Capps of Clemson and Davis Womble are two shots off the lead.

"I'm extremely comfortable here because this is my fourth year and I've played here in other tournaments," said Schniederjans, who tied the tournament record with a 6-under 30 on the front nine. "I've had so many times where I shoot 30 or 31, then I don't keep the pedal down. I want to shoot some really low scores this year. I want to shoot more low-60s rounds."

A hole-in-one can help that goal. Schniederjans aced No. 8, which plays 243 yards and downhill. He chose a 5-iron off the tee. The ball hit the downslope of a mound, then tumbled toward the hole before disappearing.

"That was a green-light pin," he said. "I tried to hit something that wouldn't go too far."

He followed with a birdie on No. 9 and others on Nos. 11 and 15.

"It's exciting and you get congratulations, but you have to get refocused," said Schniederjans, who has eight aces in his lifetime.

The team title race is tight. Five schools are tied for the lead at 7 under: Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech. Clemson is sixth and South Carolina seventh with Wake Forest and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga tied for eighth, just four off the lead.

"No matter what happens, we've got a chance, and that's a nice place to be, because last year we were out of it after the first round," UTC coach Mark Guhne said. "We'll have to go low again tomorrow, really low. But the course is in perfect condition."

The Mocs combined to shoot a 6-under 282. Senior Liam Johnston paced them with a 66. Sophomore Wes Gosselin shot 71, sophomore Zac Stolz shot 72 and sophomore Ewan Scott shot a 73. Andrew Weathers, who played alongside Schniederjans, had the drop score after his opening 67.

"I know there's a lot of confidence in this team," Johnston said. "The confidence is flowing. Why not try to get a win?"

Schniederjans is thinking along the same lines -- Just Keep Doing It.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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