DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Sophomore Mason Malouf (Boston, Mass.) opened with a career-best 67, and junior Aman Vantipalli (Alpharetta, Ga.) and sophomore Luke Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) both finished the day under par as No. 20 Babson College sits in fifth place through 36 holes at the West Pines Collegiate at West Pines Golf Club on Monday.

The Beavers shot a 5-under 279 in round one and posted a 4-over 288 in round two to finish the day at 1-under 567. No. 10 Oglethorpe fired rounds of 274 and 271 to build a 15-stroke lead at 23-under through 36 holes. Christopher Newport (560) is second at 8-under, Hampden-Sydney (563) is third at 5-under, and Shenandoah (564) is three strokes ahead of Babson in fourth place at 4-under.

Walker opened with an even-par 72 that featured three birdies and three bogeys before firing a career-best 68 to move into a tie for 13th place at 3-under. Starting on the fourth hole, he responded to an early bogey on the par-4 sixth with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 7-9 to get into red figures.

Walker gave two shots back with consecutive bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15, but answered with three more birdies over his final five holes.

Vantipalli posted a 2-under 69 in his opening round, with his lone bogey coming on his final hole, the par-3 third. He followed with three bogeys over the first six holes of his second round before playing the final 12 holes in 2-under thanks to birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 and another on the par-4 second. He finished the day tied for 18th place at 1-under 143.

Malouf, who was making his first tournament appearance since March, played a terrific first round that included six birdies and two bogeys on the way to a 4-under 67. Starting on the sixth hole, he birdied four of his first seven holes and got to 5-under for the round with his final birdie of the day on the par-4 first before bogeying his final hole.

Malouf made just one birdie in the afternoon round and settled for a 5-over 76, leaving him tied for 29th place at 1-over 145 for the tournament.

Senior Jack Berry (Western Springs, Ill.) and first-year Jay Sherwood (Duxbury, Mass.) both carded rounds of 72 and 74 and are tied for 51st place at 4-over through 36 holes. Sherwood played his first 14 holes of round one in 3-under before giving back four shots over his final four holes. Berry made four birdies and five bogeys in the opening round and rebounded from a slow start to round two by playing his final eight holes in 1-under.

The final round at West Pines Golf Club begins at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

TOURNAMENT NOTES
•    The Beavers' first round total of 279 is their lowest 18-hole score in 10 rounds at West Pines Golf Club, and their 36-hole total of 567 is nine shots better than in 2024 when they placed fourth overall. 
•    Babson ranked second in par-4 scoring at 2-over and fifth in par-5 scoring at 9-over on Monday, and their three double bogeys were tied for third fewest in the 24-team field. 
•    Malouf is tied for fifth in par-4 scoring at 2-under, Walker is tied for sixth in par-5 scoring at 4-under, and each player made six birdies in a round for the first time by any Babson golfer this season. 
•    Vantipalli boasts a 71.38 scoring average and has finished under par three times in eight career rounds at West Pines GC.