St. John's picked the right time to break a program record for a team round by shooting a four-under par 284 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the NCAA Division III men's golf tournament in Nicholasville, Ky.
Junior Sam Berger of Waconia tied a school mark for a low round at the NCAA Championship with a 4-under par 68, a round that included five birdies and shooting three-under on the final eight holes. The score was also a career low for Berger, who is tied for third out of 221 golfers in the tournament.
Illinois Wesleyan (285) and Christopher Newport (286) are second and third behind the Johnnies, who entered the tournament ranked 14th in the nation.
The tournament continues Wednesday morning with the field being cut to 18 teams at the end of the day. The tournament scoreboard is here and a livestream is here.
Wisconsin-Superior of the UMAC is tied for 41st in the 43-team field.