Coastal Carolina Leads by Two After First Round of 2025 PGA University Championship

Battling cold and windy conditions, defending champion Coastal Carolina University once again finds itself atop the leaderboard after round one of the PGA University Championship.

Coastal Carolina (14-over 302) sits two strokes ahead of Campbell University (16-over 304) following Tuesday’s opening round at Atlanta National Golf Club in Milton, Georgia. Florida Gulf Coast University (18-over 306) is in third place followed by the University of Central Oklahoma (21-over 309) in fourth and Ferris State University (22-over 310) in fifth.

The competing teams are made up of five players from 17 PGA Golf Management University programs, with the four lowest scores counting toward each team’s total each round.

Similar to their plan in 2024, Coastal Carolina PGA Golf Management Program Director Gil Feagin, PGA, told his team to target an opening round of 300 as the school attempts to win back-to-back Jones Cup trophies after previously doing so in 2004 and 2005.

“That [score] tends to work well in this event to keep you in contention after the first day,” said Feagin. “With the cold temperatures, that number is probably a little elevated this year, but we're pleased that we're in a good position for day two. We did what we were supposed to on day one, which was to stay in position.”

Feagin is leaning on the experience of junior Jones Saylor, the only returning player from last year’s championship team. Saylor posted one of the cleanest rounds of the day, battling the elements that included frozen greens overnight to card one birdie against three bogeys for a 2-over 74, tying five others for the low round of the day.

“I think everybody would agree that it was a mental grind out there just with the cold and everything and just trying to figure out what the clubs are doing,” said Saylor. “The wind was kind of blowing at first and it died down, which helped out. I played pretty well, just couldn't really get many putts to drop. We know that we left some shots out there today and there's a lot to be had out there tomorrow.”

Among the players matching Saylor’s low round was his teammate, sophomore Wade Sorrells. The youngest member of Coastal’s team, Sorrells battled throughout the round, posting five birdies against five bogeys and a double bogey. It was his 1-under finish over his last five holes that helped propel his team in contention to repeat and keep himself in the hunt for the Bill Cioffoletti Trophy, awarded annually to the medalist.

“It wasn't easy, but myself and the rest of our team, we just kept our composure,” said Sorrells. “Off the start on hole 17, I had a really good shot and made a putt [for birdie]. Then on holes 12-16, I played pretty well and was 1-under and just knew I needed to get some shots back for myself and for the team. I knew I had some gettable holes, so that's probably where I felt like I took advantage.”

Sophomore Wyatt Kos (4-over 76) and senior Colin McAuliffe (6-over 78) contributed the two additional lowest scores counting toward Coastal’s team total. Junior Jacob Mann shot 10-over 82.

“We’ve got a very young team, but I think I have a team that's just as talented as last year,” said Feagin. “We've had some good tournaments this fall. I'll tell you, I'm pleased with the way they played, and I think we're going to be very strong tomorrow and in future years.”

After the cold start, Feagin expects the back nine tomorrow “to be closer to normal temperatures for this time of year” and knows there is plenty of golf left to play. His message to the Coastal team was simple: “Just finish the job.”

“We've learned that it's anyone's game, that this is a competitive sport, but it's one where it can come down to the last hole,” said Sorrells. “So just play your game, and play until the last put drops.”

“We know what our job is here this week and what we want to accomplish,” echoed Saylor. “[I told my teammates coming in to] just trust their game that they're playing and trust what they're doing. And at the end of the day, each individual score counts toward the team, so don’t really worry too much about what everybody else is doing. Just focus on your game and contribute what you can to everybody else and then everything will take care of itself.”

The other players tied with Sorrells and Saylor atop the individual leaderboard at 2-over 74 are Central Oklahoma’s Bennett Baldwin, University of Nebraska’s Joey Konz, University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Carson Kidd and Florida Gulf Coast’s Annie Yost.

The 2025 PGA University Championship, supported by Srixon/Cleveland Golf, concludes on Wednesday with the final round scheduled to begin with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. ET.

The field is competing for the Jones Cup trophy, which is named after the first PGA Golf Management University Program Director at Mississippi State, Dr. S. Roland Jones, who held the position from 1985 until his passing in 1997. The individual medalist will receive the Bill Cioffoletti Trophy.