Whitham, Men’s Golf Sit Atop Leaderboard After Opening Round of NECC Championship

STOW, Massachusetts — First-year Riley Whitham (Harvard, Mass.) shot a 1-over par 73 to help the Babson College men's golf team take a 13-shot lead after the first round of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's golf championship at the Stow Acres Country Club North Course on Saturday.

Battling cold and windy conditions throughout the afternoon, the defending conference champion Beavers posted a team score of 313. Elms College sits in second place after recording a team score of 326, while Becker College and Daniel Webster College are tied for third place at 351.

Whitham, who will enter the final round with a three-shot lead, made five birdies and was 3-under par on the par 5s on Saturday. First-year Benjamin Crawford (Houston, Texas) made 10 pars and sits in third place after carding a 5-over par 77, while sophomore Kyle Alexander (Brewer, Maine) led all players with 11 pars and is tied for fifth place after shooting an opening-round 80.

Sophomore Ian Notkin (Caldwell, N.J.), the reigning NECC Golfer and Rookie of the Year, is in 12th place after shooting an 83 on Saturday.

The Green and White will begin final round play on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

TOURNAMENT NOTES
• The Beavers have led after the opening round of the NECC Championship in each of the last five years.
• The Green and White is looking to win its fourth conference title since 2009.
• Babson's team score of 313 is its highest in seven competitive rounds this fall.
• Whitham's round of 73 is the lowest score by a Babson player in the NECC Championship since Vijay Vasandani posted a 69 in the opening round of the 2013 tournament.