Chattanooga Surges Into Lead With Sizzling Back Nine On Day One

WEST COLUMBIA, SC – Chattanooga carded 15 birdies and an eagle over its final nine holes as a team, surging into the lead after the opening day of the 2026 SoCon Men’s Golf Championship at Solina Golf Club.

The Mocs’ Cam Braidech and Mercer’s Nathan Trodd tied for the individual lead, carding twin scores of 66 to tie the Solina course record.

Chattanooga entered the week ranked in the top 75 nationally and shot 9-under par 275 to hold a five-stroke lead heading into Tuesday’s second round. Western Carolina shot a 4-under par 280, and ETSU rallied with a 2-under par 282 to finish the first round in the top three.

Trodd started on the 10th hole on Monday and made the turn with a strong 34 after four birdies and three pars. He was even better over the next nine holes, supplementing seven holes of par golf with a pair of birdies to finish with his 66.

Braidech finished in the final pairing of the day and played consistently well, with only one bogey over 18 holes. He started on the front nine and sank one birdie putt and made eight pars for a 33. A birdie and eagle on 10 and 11 lowered his score further, and he overcame a bogey on 14 with three pars and a birdie over the final four holes to move into a tie for the lead.

A total of 14 golfers finished the first round under par. UNC Greensboro standout Kelvin Hernandez is one stroke back of the lead pair after a first-round 67, while Evan Rogers (Chattanooga), Ben Jordan (Wofford), Campbell Sciortino (Samford), Gavin Isbell (Samford), and Jace Butcher (Western Carolina) each finished the day 3-under par and tied for fourth.

Teams will tee off at 9:00 Tuesday morning on the 6,766-yard (Par 71) course.

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Individual Leaderboard