BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - Concordia-St. Paul junior Tommy Marker opened the NSIC Preview Invitational by shooting a personal best low round 70 to sit -2 and in a tie for third place on the 102-player individual leaderboard at Adams Pointe Golf Club.

Marker is the clubhouse leader for the Golden Bears, who shot a team 309 (+21) and are in a tie for 13th in the 18-team tournament that includes three "B" teams competing.

The Golden Bears are just nine strokes out of sixth-place in a crowded field, also only seven shots ahead of 17th-place Minot State's B-lineup.

William Jewell leads the field with a 288, even par for its team lineup card, two shots ahead of Rockhurst and Winona State.

Marker trails individual leader Max Brud (-5) from Minnesota State by three shots, and William Jewell's Bennett Berger (-3) by one stroke.

Marker opened strong with a birdie on the first hole, a 380-yard par 4, and then put together nine consecutive pars before his only bogey of the day on 10. He rebounded with birdies on 13 and 15, with pars on the remaining holes, shooting -1 on the front and back.

Brandon Sperling holds CSP's second spot on the team card, shooting +4 in the first round (76), and is tied for 34th in the field.

Concordia's third, fourth, and fifth best performers were all from the individual side as Hunter Robinson matched Sperling's +4, while Thomas Gutzmer and Camden Omalley were each +7 and in a tie for 63rd.

Tomorrow's final round commences with a shotgun start at 10 a.m.