By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – Another solid round across the board proved to be enough for the Tennessee Tech men's golf team to notch a second place finish at the Murray State Invitational Tuesday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles held off a late charge by Alabama State to finish as the event's runner-up.
The Tech squad collected its first top five finish of the season, posting a collective 291 in the third and final round at Miller Memorial Golf Course to finish at 869 overall. Playing at its home course, host team and Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State captured the team title with an 853 total while Alabama State's Branson Ferrier captured the individual medalist honors after defeating the Racers' Brock Simmons in a playoff.
"I'm proud of our guys for their finish today and how they performed overall these past two days," head coach Polk Brown said. "There's room for us to improve, but there were several positives to take away from this event and we look forward to making the proper adjustments before our next event. Our next tournament has seven OVC teams participating in it, so that will give us another great chance to size ourselves up with the rest of the league."
Leading the way for the Golden Eagles thanks to a career weekend was Bryce Kendrick. The senior captured his first career All-Tournament honors after tying for fourth place overall with a 74-69-73=216. It matched the third-lowest 54-hole score of his career.
Wrapping up place just one stroke back of his teammate, Cookeville native Adam Cunningham tied for 10th place in the 61-man field. The senior posted the low round for the day for Tech, matching the par of 71 to round out the event at 217.
Consistency was the name of the game for both Mitch Thomas and A.J. Wilkerson at the tournament in Murray, Ky., as each golfer posted 73 each round of play. The two tied for 10th overall, giving the Golden Eagles four players in the top 10 of the event. Wilkerson finished with the second lowest score among those participating as an individual, tallying a 219.
Rounding out Tech's scoring on the day was freshman Matthew Giles, who posted a 74 on the final day to help Tech stave off a hot Alabama State squad by one stroke. Giles finished in a tie for 41st after finishing the event at 83-73-74=230.
Former Tech wide receiver Neil Gannaway put the finishing touches to his best tournament in the purple and gold, carding a third-round 76 for a 220 overall. He tied for 16th in the event, the highest finish of his short career as a member of the Tech golf team.
The Golden Eagles will get right back at it next week as the team prepares to head north for its first ever trip to the Derek Dolenc Invitational hosted by SIUE. The tournament is set to run from Monday, Sept. 28 to Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Madison, Ill. at Gateway National Golf Links.
Photo courtesy of Ohio Valley Conference
