October 28, 2013

Eagles Finish First Day Strong at McDonough Cup

WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Carson-Newman Eagles men’s golf team had a strong finish to their day at the McDonough Cup at Eagle Creek Golf Club hosted by Rollins University on Monday. After shooting a 15-over-par 303 as a team during the first round, the Eagles responded by shooting a 5-under-par 283 in the second round to put Carson-Newman in a tie for 12th place entering Tuesday’s final round. The 5-under-par round is the first time this season that the Eagles have shot under par as a team in a round.

WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Carson-Newman Eagles men's golf team had a strong finish to their day at the McDonough Cup at Eagle Creek Golf Club hosted by Rollins University on Monday.

After shooting a 15-over-par 303 as a team during the first round, the Eagles responded by shooting a 5-under-par 283 in the second round to put Carson-Newman in a tie for 12^th place entering Tuesday's final round. The 5-under-par round is the first time this season that the Eagles have shot under par as a team in a round.

"It was a slow start definitely today in the first round, (Jonathan) Kim-Moss shot his steady even-par round, but we just really didn't put it together in the first round," said Carson-Newman head coach John Minor. "We came back really strong in the second round after being on the golf course for 10 or 11 hours. Shot under par as a team for the first time this year."

The Eagles were once again led by senior Jonathan Kim-Moss (Mississauga, Canada), as he shot an even-par 72 in the first round followed by a 4-under-par 68 to close his day for a collective total of 140, four-under-par for the tournament and good for an individual second place tie, even with Yannick Gumowski of Columbus State.

Kim-Moss and Gumowski are only two strokes back of tournament leader Robert Prior of Lander.

"Kim-Moss is the best player in the field," said Minor. "That's what I just told him. He's going to go win tomorrow. It's time."

In addition to the solid play from Kim-Moss, the Eagles saw senior Rafael Jackson (Rutledge, Tenn.) bounce back after a 5-over-par 77 in the first round with a 2-under-par 70 in the second round, and he is tied for 37^th place. Sophomore Corey Bray (Caryville, Tenn.) also shot eight strokes better in the second round with a 1-under-par 71 and is tied for 59^th place.

Along with Jackson and Bray, sophomore Nathan Hodge (Jefferson City, Tenn.) was six strokes better in the second round with a two-over-par 74 for a tie for 71^st place, and sophomore Nicklaus Kennedy (London, Ontario, Canada) is tied for 82^nd after shooting a 3-over-par 75 in the first round and a 14-over-par 86 in round two.

"We got solid rounds out of Jonathan, Rafael, Corey, and Nathan," Minor said. "We're fired up about tomorrow. We've got some teams we can go compete against and it was a long fun day actually. We ended in the right spot."

The Eagles, tied with Mount Olive for 12^th place, are 14 strokes behind tournament-leading Florida Tech, who is 4-under-par through the first two rounds.

Play concludes with the third round, with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. at Eagle Creek Golf Club.