By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MAINEVILLE, Ohio – The Tennessee Tech men's golf team turned in yet another top-five performance Tuesday afternoon, closing out the final 27 holes of the Xavier Invitational third overall among the 12 teams competing at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
Locking down its third consecutive top-five showing, the purple and gold tallied a 298 to finish with an 876, just two shots back of former Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay and one shot ahead of WKU. Wright State took the tournament crown with a decisive score of 851, led by individual medalist Tyler Goecke and his 204.
Paving the way for the Golden Eagles once again was Jackson Skeen, delivering a top-15 outing with a final score of 217. Racking up four birdies over his final 27 holes of action to post a 77 in the second round and 74 in round three to tie for 12th among the 72 golfers in competition.
A pair of freshmen were next on the leaderboard for the Tech crew, with Anders Larson and Haden Maxwell each recording scores of 221 to tie for 22nd. Larson ate his Wheaties Tuesday morning, exploding for 12 birdies over his final 27 holes of play to post back-to-back, career-low rounds of 69 and 68. Maxwell locked down two birdies and an eagle over his final round-and-a-half, turning in scores of 71 and 77 for a career-best showing of 221.
Veteran Chance Taylor tied for 39th with a score of 226, wrapping up the final nine holes of round two with a birdie for an even-par 72. He followed it up with a pair of birdies on his way to a 79 in the third and final round.
Junior Mark McDearman rounded out the lineup, tying for 65th after producing a 237. He used a pair of birdies to complete a second-round 78 before picking up one more as part of an 84 in the third.
Tech will compete for the third straight week to wrap up fall play next week, heading to Kennesaw, Ga. for the Pinetree Intercollegiate at Pinetree Country Club. The tournament will run from Monday, Oct. 17 through Tuesday, Oct. 18.
| Top 5 Teams: | ||||||
| 1. | Wright State | 279-288-284=851 | -13 | |||
| 2. | Austin Peay | 300-280-294=874 | +10 | |||
| 3. | Tennessee Tech | 289-289-298=876 | +12 | |||
| 4. | WKU | 297-289-291=877 | +13 | |||
| 5. | Northern Kentucky | 302-284-298=884 | +20 | |||
| Leaderboard (72 Golfers) | ||||||
| 1. | Tyler Goecke (Wright State) | 69-70-65=204 | -12 | |||
| T-12. | Jackson Skeen | 66-77-74=217 | +1 | |||
| T-22. | Anders Larson | 84-69-68=221 | +5 | |||
| T-22. | Haden Maxwell | 73-71-77=221 | +5 | |||
| T-39. | Chance Taylor | 75-72-79=226 | +10 | |||
| T-65. | Mark McDearman | 75-78-84=237 | +21 | |||
File photo by Emily Armstrong