April 19, 2016

Comeback bid falls short as Eagles place second at SAC Championships

ETOWAH, N.C. – The 17th-ranked Carson-Newman men’s golf team’s comeback bid during the final nine holes of the South Atlantic Conference Men’s Golf Championships fell just short as the Eagles finished four strokes behind Lincoln Memorial in second-place at Etowah Valley Golf Club in Etowah, N.C.

VIDEO: SAC Men's Golf Championships Sights and Sounds

SAC Men's Golf Championships Final Results

ETOWAH, N.C. – The 17^th-ranked Carson-Newman men's golf team's comeback bid during the final nine holes of the South Atlantic Conference Men's Golf Championships fell just short as the Eagles finished four strokes behind Lincoln Memorial in second-place at Etowah Valley Golf Club in Etowah, N.C.

C-N shot a three-over 291 in Tuesday's final round for a three-round total of 882, which was 18-over.

After falling behind by nine strokes on the front nine, C-N rallied to take a brief lead as the final group finished the 12^th hole. The Railsplitters recorded six birdies, which combined with multiple three-putts by Carson-Newman, gave LMU the tournament win.

Senior Nicklaus Kennedy (London, Ontario, Canada) shot a two-under 70 and finished in a tie for second, while freshman Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) placed in a tie for fifth. Senior Jace DeVault (Bluff City, Tenn.) also recorded a top-10 finish with a seventh-place tie.

"We struggled with the first few holes all week and that kind of put us in a hole; we were down at the turn. We played the back pretty well and the par-fives a couple of short par-fours that we made some birdies on," coach Randy Wylie said. "We went on a little run and we made it really close. We just didn't play the last hole really well. We put ourselves too far behind early in the round.

Kennedy shot even-par on the front nine after birdieing the par-four third and par-three eighth. The senior finished the tournament with three birdies during his final six holes; a bogey on the par-three 17^th gave the Canadian a final round two-under 70. Kennedy finished the SAC Championships at two-over.

Headrick tallied four-consecutive pars to begin his final round of the Men's Golf Championships but bogeys on the par-three fifth and par-four seventh put him at two-over. Headrick finished his front nine with a birdie on the par-five ninth for a front-nine one-over 37. The freshman birdied the par-four 11^th and then rallied off five-straight pars before a bogey on the 17^th. Headrick shot his third-straight one-over 73 in the final round.

DeVault opened his final round at two-over through the first five holes with his lone birdie coming on the par-four fourth and three birdies. DeVault followed with four-consecutive pars to shoot two-over before making the turn. On the back nine, the senior tallied three birdies to shoot one-under. He finished the round at one-over 73.

Andrew Hall (Knoxville, Tenn.) made seven-straight pars but bookended his front nine with bogeys to shoot a two-over 38 on the front nine. After the turn, the senior continued his par-setting pace with seven more even-par scores nestled around two bogeys. Hall finished the day at four-over to make him 10-over for the tournament.

Junior Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.) recorded three birdies on the front nine and made the turn at one-under. On the back nine, the junior bookended the nine holes with a pair of double-bogeys for a score of four-over. The first-team All-SAC athlete shot his best round of the tournament, a three-over 75, to finish the event at 20-over.

Coker's Will Bundy one SAC Championship MVP honors after finishing the tournament one-over and held off three competitors. Kennedy tied Queens's (N.C.) Jon Noble and the reigning SAC Player of the Year Brad Hawkins from Tusculum.

The Eagles now await their postseason fate in regards to the NCAA South/Southeast Regional in Howie-in-the-Hills, Fla. at Mission Inn Resort & Golf Club. Carson-Newman entered the SAC Men's Golf Championships as the third-ranked team in the Southeast region.

2 Carson-Newman 295 296 291 +15

T2 Nicklaus Kennnedy 73 75 70 +2

T5 Jake Headrick 73 73 73 +3

T7 Jace DeVault 73 74 +3

T27 Andrew Hall 76 74 76 +10

T51 Dalton Reese 83 78 75 +20

Individual Medalist

Will Bundy, Coker

All-Tournament First Team

Will Bundy, Coker

Nick Kennedy, Carson-Neewman

Jon Noble, Queens