MUSKOGEE, Okla. (Sept. 16, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Golf team settles into second after opening rounds of the Northeastern State Classic. 

Temperatures rose to the mid-90s Monday afternoon as the Mules hit the links at the Muskogee Golf Club. UCM's first two rounds were enough to put the Mules in second-place through day one of the invitational. The Mules sit at -10 with a first-round score of 285 and a second round of 273 to total 558. UCM hit par more than any team and lead on par three and par five holes. Only two strokes under the Mules are the Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys opened round one with a 283 then finished even with the Mules in round two. 

Matt Hoemann and Ian Barnes will lead the Mules heading into day two, both with scores of -3, 139. Hoemann shot under par each round, finishing with a 70 after the first and a 69 after the second. Hoemann was the only Mule of the day to earn an eagle, shooting -2 on a par five in his second round. Barnes was +1 after scoring a 72 the first round, but he made up for it with a five-stroke decrease in round two with a 67. 

The most consistent Mule of the day was newcomer Thomas Henson, finishing each round at -1, 70. Henson sits in third for UCM with a total score of -2, 140. Close behind Henson is Sam Parrott with a -1, 141. Parrott recorded a seven-stroke improvement from his +3, 74 in round one and a -4, 67 in the second. Nick Westrich rounds out the Mules team with a day one score of +1, 143. After finishing the first round +2, Westrich improved by three strokes in round two. Henson and Westrich are first and tied second in par. 

Golfing as an individual for the Mules is Drew Eaton. Eaton finished even after round one and then finished his second round +3 to end the day with a total score of 145. 

The second-place Mules are scheduled to begin their third and final round of the NSU Classic at 9:39 Tuesday morning.