JOPLIN, Mo. – Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Whit Hayes shot a first-round 76 and finished the first day of the NJCAA Division II National Championship Tournament in a tie for 26^th. Hayes is five shots off the lead with three days remaining in the tournament which is being played at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club.

Hayes, a sophomore from Thomasville, started hot Tuesday with a birdies on the second and fourth holes, both par-4s. He ran into trouble before the turn with bogeys on the par-5 7^th and the par-3 8^th to finish the front nine at even par.

He put together five straight pars before a double bogey on the par-3 14^th and consecutive bogeys on the 16^th and 17^th holes brought him in at 76.

Kirkwood Community College’s Grant Greazel and Hawkeye Community College’s Kaeden Anderson tied for the first-day lead as each carded a 1-under 71, the only two golfers to break par. Three more golfers are one shot back.

Hayes qualified for the tournament as an individual and is the only Stallion in the tourney. In the team competition, Kirkwood and Chandler-Gilbert Community College are tied at the top at 13-over par.