PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – All-Big South Freshman Team selection Griffin Tarver continued his torrid stretch as of late, tallying the low Charleston Southern score Monday as the Buccaneers played the first 18 holes of the three-round NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

FIVE BIRDIES ON DAY ONE
Tarver posted five birdies – four on the front nine – on his way to a 1-over 73, tying him for 15th place. He recovered from a bogey on No. 2 to go under par on the next hole, the par-5, 538-yard No. 3. His score jumped to 3-over by hole No. 5 but three birdies over the last-four holes to round out the front put him back on track. He birdied the par-5, 488-yard No. 6; the par-4, 427-yard No. 8 and the par-4, 404-yard No. 9 to come in at Even par when making the turn.

On the back, his score again climbed two strokes after a pair of bogies but one last birdie, on the par-3, 179-yard No. 15, broke up an otherwise string of pars from No. 14 through the finish.

LOUDIN FINDS BACK NINE MORE FAVORABLE
The next score in the clubhouse for CSU was Caleb Loudin, who posted a 3-over 75 to share 33rd place with seven others. His best nine-hole score was on the back, where he tallied an Even-par 36 after scoring at 3-over on the front. He managed to drop in birdies on No. 6 and No. 9 before making the turn. His back-nine under-par holes were on the par-4, 427-yard No. 12, No. 15 and the par-5, 556-yard No. 18.

EAGLE ON 18 MOVES CARROLL UP
Ben Carroll, an All-Big South Honorable Mention choice, concluded a rocky day on the course with the squad's lone eagle, finding the par-5 18th in just three strokes to cap his day at 5-over 77. His best success came on some of the longest holes on the Champions Course layout, earning birdies on No. 3 and No. 6 before adding one more, on the par-4, 450-yard No. 11. Combined with five pars, he finds himself in an eight-way tie for 46th on the individual leaderboard.

FIVE-STROKE IMPROVEMENT ON THE BACK
No one wearing blue and gold improved as much between nine holes than Ethan Willis, who lowered his score by five strokes for a 7-over 79 and share of 59th place after the opening 18. His first round featured just two birdies, on the par-5, 545-yard No. 10 and on the par-4, 465-yard No. 14 but he also mixed in eight pars on the day – four on each of the front and back.

REBOUND REQUESTED
All-Big South Honorable Mention pick and All-Big South Academic Team selection Alan Smith will look to regroup from his 11-over 83 to start the postseason and show he was worthy of those two accolades during the next 36 holes. His Monday featured two birdies, on No. 6 and No. 11, to go along with five pars, including three on the back nine in registering the individual score not factoring into Charleston Southern's team total.

THREE SPOTS UP; AHEAD OF NATIONALLY-RANKED PURDUE
The Buccaneers entered the field as the No. 14 seed out of 14 but landed in 11th through Monday's opening round with a 16-over 304, one stroke in front of No. 26 Purdue. The Boilermakers are one of eight Top-50 ranked programs in the highly-competitive field. Thirteen of the 14 schools recorded over-par team totals with No. 3 Vanderbilt the lone institution under par thus far.

UP NEXT
Charleston Southern will play in the second round, another 18 holes, Tuesday on the par-72, 7,048-yard layout. The Bucs will be paired with San Diego and No. 26 Purdue with the first groups set to tee off at 8:55 a.m. from starting hole No. 10.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN INDIVIDUALS
T15. Griffin Tarver, +1 (73)
T33. Caleb Loudin, +3 (75)
T46. Ben Carroll, +5 (77)
T59. Ethan Willis, +7 (79)
72. Alan Smith, +11 (83)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. No. 3 Vanderbilt, -3 (285)
2. No. 40 USF, +2 (290)
3. No. 15 Notre Dame, +4 (292)
4. Davidson, +5 (293)
T5. No. 10 Florida, +6 (294)
T5. College of Charleston, +6 (294)
7. No. 45 Little Rock, +7 (295)
8. No. 22 Florida State, +9 (297)
9. No. 34 New Mexico, +10 (298)
10. San Diego, +15 (303)
11. Charleston Southern, +16 (304)
12. No. 26 Purdue, +17 (305)
13. Indiana, +20 (308)
14. Loyola (Md.), +36 (324)