MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Mercer University  women's golf team fired a 9-over-par 293 in its opening round of the 2015-16 season, finishing fourth in the 18-team field on the opening day of the Golfweek Program Challenge at the Caledonia Golf and Fish Club.

Jaelyn Tindal got her sophomore campaign off to a great start, finishing the opening round with career-best score of 71. Tindal birdied three of her first six holes en route to a 2-under 33 on the first nine holes before closing the afternoon with a 2-over 38. She heads into the second round of action just three strokes out of third place and on pace for her first career top-10 finish.

Mercer sits just three strokes out of second place after the first round of play, despite featuring just one upperclassmen in its lineup. Old Dominion leads the field following its 3-over-par 287, while Morehead State (+6, 290) and Stetson (+7, 291) round out the top three. The Bears lead Campbell, who entered the event ranked 45th in the GolfStat.com top 100, by one stroke and the rest of the top 10 by multiple shots.