September 16, 2012

Eagles prepare to head down to South Carolina to play in The Kiawah Island Invitational

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman’s men’s golf team will head down to South Carolina for a Monday tee time at the Kiawah Island Invitational, which will feature the 5th ranked USC Aiken golf team as hosts.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman's men's golf team will head down to South Carolina for a Monday tee time at the Kiawah Island Invitational, which will feature the 5^th ranked USC Aiken golf team as hosts.

The Eagle's played host to last week's tournament, The Smoky Mountain Intercollegiate, and ended the two rounds in a tie for eighth place.

Carson-Newman head coach John Minor said he is looking forward to playing at Kiawah Island and believes his team will be better than they were for the Smoky Mountain Intercollegiate.

"I learned tournaments are a lot of work and for this tournament (Kiawah Island) I will get the opportunity to focus more on my guys," Minor said. "I believe the guys have matured a little bit from the previous tournament and will be able to perform better."

Carson-Neman will play six teams in the tournament who are nationally ranked in the top 25.

"We have a really nice team going down there and we have prepared a lot prior to this tournament down in Kiawah," Minor said.

Junior men's golfer Jonathan Kim-Moss (Mississauga, Canada) tied for third place at the Smoky Mountain Intercollegiate. He finished with a score of 69 (-3) for day one and 74 (+2) on day two giving him a two-round total of 143 (-1).

"Kim-Moss has loads of talent that will be valuable for this tournament," said Minor. "He needs to continue to play like he has been playing."

Minor also thinks senior men's golfer Gavin Hay (Glasgow, Scotland) will also be another valuable player to the team. Hay was 13 over for the Smoky Mountain Intercollegiate, but Minor expects him to turn things around in Kiawah.

"Gavin will use this tournament to bounce back and pick up his game. He along with Kim-Moss are talented players and both could be potential All-Americans," Minor said.

Rafael Jackson closed the SMI with a three under round of 69, while Chase McCown, who was competing as an individual, finished the tournament tied for 24^th.

"I have a lot of confidence in him (McCown) as a player. He will add a layer to the team that will give us a better chance," Minor said.

Freshman Nathan Hodge will also compete for C-N.

This will be the first time Carson-Newman takes to the road for the 2012 season. Minor said the Cougar Point course will be a challenging one for his golfers.

"Kiawah Island is a world class resort that has a few different grasses and difficult holes that we are not familiar with playing on," Minor said. "We are a mature team and we will know how to adjust in any situation."

The Eagle's will begin round one Monday, Sept. 17.

-CN-