VALDOSTA, Ga. – Freshman Per Ekelund made four birdies, including one on his final hole for a 2-under-par 70 to grab the 36-hole lead at the 2024 Gulf South Conference Championship on Tuesday.

He is 2-under for the tournament with a 142 total, one shot ahead of Montevallo's Harrison Hughston. Ekelund's climb up the leaderboard puts him in position to be the first freshman to win the individual title since UWF's Tobias Rosendahl in 2008.

Freshman TJ Thompson is in sixth place following a 77 that pushed his 2-day total to 146. Junior Fabian Wennerlof carded a 74 and is tied for tenth place at 148.

In a new rule instituted by the league this season, teams can substitute a sixth player prior to the start of any round during the championship. Sophomore Eddie Lee replaced Nico Lang on Tuesday and finished the day with a 76. 

No. 14 UWF finished the second round with the lowest score of any of the 10 teams, as four Argos combined for a 297 and a 579 total. That allowed the squad to add a shot to its team lead and enter Wednesday's final round with a 6-shot cushion over No. 9 Lee.

UWF has won a record 19 team titles since joining the GSC in 1995.

UWF, Lee and Union will be paired together on Wednesday with the first group of those pairings starting off No. 1 at 10:10 a.m. Eastern time.