The third-ranked Alabama men’s golf team secured the opening-round lead at the 2013 Puerto Rico Classic Sunday on the par-72, 6,902-yard River Course at the Rio Mar Country Club with a 9-under-par 279.

The Crimson Tide has a one-stroke lead over Oklahoma (280) and a two-shot advantage over Clemson (281). Georgia Tech is in fourth place at 2-under 286 with SMU in fifth place at 1-under 287.

Redshirt freshman Tom Lovelady of Birmingham, Ala., and senior Scott Strohmeyer of Auburn, Ala., led the Alabama attack with 3-under-par rounds of 69. The two are tied for fifth place, two strokes off the lead of Clemson’s Billy Kennerly. Lovelady closed with two birdies in his final three holes, while Strohmeyer carded four birdies and one bogey on his round.

Cory Whitsett, a native of Houston, Texas, gives the Tide three inside the top 10. He fired a 2-under-par 70 to tie for 10th in the opening round, which included an eagle on the par-5, 562-yard 11th hole. Mobile’s Bobby Wyatt is tied for 15th after a 1-under-par 71. Justin Thomas was Alabama’s drop score at 1-over-par 73.

The Crimson Tide will tee off at 6 a.m. CST on Monday in the second round of the Puerto Rico Classic. Alabama will be playing with Oklahoma and Clemson.

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