HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Christopher Newport sophomore J.P. Carr (-4) carded the finest round of his young career with a 68 and currently sits in a three-way tie for second at the Kinder-Williams Invitational after the opening round of play. Carr's performance was one of three rounds under par in the first round as Christopher Newport men's golf opened the 2025-26 season tied for second with a two-over 290. 

The Captains are tied with Southern Virginia after the first 18 holes and sit two strokes behind host and tournament leader Bridgewater College (E) with a 288. On the individual leaderboard, Carr trails Hampden-Sydney's Groves Williams (-5) by just one stroke heading into the second and final round of play on Tuesday. 

Carr was one of five CNU players in the tournament as an individual and three of them finished at three-over with matching 75's. Patrick O'Rourke, Owen Taylor, and Connor Wood are all tied for 25th after the first round of action. Paxton Ihm (+14) was the final individual score for CNU on Monday. 

The five CNU players tapped to represent the Captains in the tournament were led by rookie Nathan Smith (-2) and sophomore Jacob Foti (-1). Smith registered the finest career debut by a Captain since Jonathan Howard fired an Even par 70 in the Apprentice Fall Invitational. Smith's round, in relation to par, is the best score for a freshman debut on record at Christopher Newport dating back to at least 2005. At two-under, he bests Alex Price's one-under debut in 2018. 

In the opening round, Smith recorded five birdies and 11 pars to finish at two-under with a 70. He finished the front nine in 36 strokes with a double bogey on the 5th hole but quickly bounced back with back-to-back birdies on the 6th and 7th holes to get back Even. On the back, he birded the 11th, 12th, and 18th holes while bogeying 15 for his fine finish. He is currently tied for sixth overall. 

Foti had four birdies in his career-best performance and had the best score on the front for CNU with a 35. He finished out the round with a one-under 71 (35-36) and is in a four-way tie for eighth to round out the three CNU players in the top ten. 

Newcomer Fischer Leggitt (+1) joined Smith with a standout debut, carding a pair of birdies and a team-high 13 pars. Stephen Patterson (+4) and Nick Alexander (+7) rounded out the scoring for CNU. Patterson birdied the 186-yard par three 7th hole while Anderson added birdies on 6 and 13. 

Live scoring is available online and the link can be found on the men's golf schedule at CNUsports.com. The second round will be underway on Tuesday as the team 16-team, 91-player field wraps up the Kinder-Williams Invitational at the Lakeview GC in Harrisonburg, Va.