ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The No. 3 ranked Lincoln Memorial University men's golf program returned to the Sunshine State Monday morning to defend their Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate crown at the St. John's Golf Club, finishing day one action in second place of the 22-team field.
 
The Railsplitters (+15) will enter day two action just six strokes behind the current leaders of North Georgia (+9) near the completion of second round action. Play will resume at 8 a.m. EST to finish the remaining holes of the second round, as play was suspended for darkness around 6:15 p.m. on Monday evening.
 
A major storyline from Monday's action for the Blue & Grey centered around the breakout play from newcomers George Durkan and individual Alexei Butchart. The Russian native Butchart stole the show is the first round Monday morning, despite being an individual in the star-studded LMU lineup, Butchart finished as the low-representative from Lincoln Memorial at two-under-par. Butchart carded five birdies in his successful opening round of the Spring Kickoff.
 
Freshman Englishman George Durkan currently sits in seventh-place in the individual standings, as the frosh sits steady at three-under through the paused second round and one-over overall. Durkan was just one of two Railsplitters on the day to card an eagle.
 
The No. 6 overall ranked individual in DII, graduate Luke Harries, also sits in the top-10 of the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate at two-over-par.
 
Sophomore Alex James (+6), junior Ian Taggart (+8) and junior Harry Lord (+10) rounded out LMU's starting lineup.
 
UP NEXT…
No. 3 ranked men's golf return to the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate at 8 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 15 for second and third round action.
 
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms —@LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram — for complete coverage of Railsplitter golf through the 2021-22 season.