DALLAS – Louisiana Tech's Niilo Maki-Petaja shot a bogey-free 67 (-5) to lead the Bulldogs in round one of the Trinity Forest Invitational on Sunday, played at the Trinity Forest Golf Club.
 
All five Bulldogs finished at or under par as LA Tech shot 282 (-6) as a squad, putting them in seventh on the team leaderboard after the first 18 holes.
 
Maki-Petaja got off to a strong start, making birdie on the opening hole No. 10.  The sophomore then had a stretch of making three birdies in four holes while making the turn.  He capped off his round with his fifth birdie, which came on the par 3 No. 8. 
 
The Finland native is tied for third on the player leaderboard.  With his 67, he became the first player in program history to shoot three consecutive rounds of five under or better (shot 66 and 67 in rounds two and three at the GMAC Invitational).
 
Morton Bailey was the other Bulldog to finish in the red, shooting 71 (-1).  After shooting 38 on the back, the freshman responded with a 33 on the front, sandwiching a double bogey with five birdies.  It marked his third round under par over the last four rounds played.
 
The remaining three Bulldogs – Jake Plumb, Freddie Surgey, and Oskari Schuvalow – all shot 72 (E).  Surgey was steady, registering one birdie and one bogey to go along with 16 pars.  Schuvalow shrugged off two bogeys in his first three holes to shoot even par and Plumb sank a birdie on the finishing hole No. 9 to end his day at even par as well.
 
UP NEXT
LA Tech will return to the Trinity Forest Golf Club for round two on Monday.  The first tee time for the Bulldogs will be at 9 a.m. CT, starting on hole one.
 
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