No. 20 Eagles embrace comeback for Tennessee River Rumble victory
LOUDON, Tenn. – A 20-shot turnaround from the first to second round helped Carson-Newman to garner their first tournament win of the season in its regular season finale at the Tennessee River Rumble on Wednesday at the Tennessee National Golf Club.
VIDEO: Sights and Sounds
LOUDON, Tenn. – A 20-shot turnaround from the first to second round helped Carson-Newman to garner their first tournament win of the season in its regular season finale at the Tennessee River Rumble on Wednesday at the Tennessee National Golf Club.
The team carded a 291 total in the second round to give C-N a 602 total, 26-shots over par. C-N was the best Par 4 scoring team for the event with a 4.23 average.
"I was really worried after yesterday," head coach Randy Wylie said. "Being in ninth-place, I was just concerned, but we've got a good character about us and we're pretty tough and I felt like we could play pretty well.
"Now coming all the way back to win, that's a little surprising, but I'm just thrilled for my guys. They showed a lot of heart out there today."
VIDEO: Randy Wylie Interview
The Eagles, now ranked 20th in the nation in the latest Golfstat rankings released early Wednesday morning, moved up eight spots on the leaderboard through the final round, marking their largest bounce-back this season. They bypassed their five-spot improvement at the McDonough Cup where they moved from fifth-place to finish at third. That was also the last event where the Eagles improved by 20-shots through the last round.
Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) shaved two shots off of his Monday score to card a 73, giving him a +4 total of 148 that was good enough a tie at second on the leaderboard. This marks the junior's third top-three finish of the season. He was also named to the All-Tournament team in the event.
"I don't think anything really changed, but yesterday was blowing about 30 mile per hour winds and today was pretty calm," Headrick mentioned. "It was still pretty windy today, but the conditions were a little bit easier today."
Headrick was the only Eagles to shoot under par through the back-nine to start the day, notching a pair of birdies with a bogey to land at one-under through the first nine holes.
VIDEO: Jake Headrick Interview
Alex Hutson (Newport, Tenn.) and Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) concluded the event with +7 scores of 151 for a tie at 11th-place.
Hutson was +4 in the second round with a trio of birdies that were able to overshadow his four bogeys and a +3 score on the first hole of the day he faced.
Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) was even for most of the morning aside from his one bogey in the back nine for a +1 score at the turn. In the latter part of the day, the freshman was one-under thanks to three birdies to overcome early bogeys in the front-nine.
Tom Forster (Oundle, England) made a nine-shot improvement through the two rounds to finish with an 11-over score of 155 to land in a tie at 32nd. He was even through the back-nine to start the day before going one-over on the front half of the course to conclude the day.
Not far behind was Will Hurt (Powell, Tenn.), finishing in a tie for 41st on Wednesday with a +12 total of 156. This came after he had a pair of bogeys early in the morning before a birdie on 18 allowed him to hold a one-over score heading into the turn for the afternoon portion of play. In the front nine, the junior was even to improve his score by 10-shots for a final round score of 73.
Grant Bodie (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished with a 14-over card of 158 after shooting two shots higher on Wednesday compared to his first day for a +8 second round score of 80. He landed in a tie for 48th on the leaderboard.
Tyler Parker (Knoxville, Tenn.) improved by one shot on Wednesday to garner a 74th-place finish. He shot eight bogeys in the second round with a double bogey for a 10-over 82. He was the only Eagle to not see improvement in his back-nine score, shooting one shot higher on Wednesday.
Host team No. 16 Lincoln Memorial ended a close two-strokes behind the Eagles in the field. Wingate rounded out the top three with a 606 total.
LMU's Dan Bradbury took home the overall medalist award with a +2 showing of 146. He was one-under on the second day. Tied with Headrick at second was Hillsdale College's Liam Purslowe who led the field through the first 18-holes. He was five-over on Wednesday, six shots higher than his first-round score.
The Eagles now prepare for a quick turnaround as they head into the South Atlantic Conference Championship. The three-day event begins on April 8 at the Cobbs Glen Country Club in Anderson, S.C.
|
Carson-Newman |
311 |
291 |
602 |
+26 |
1st |
|
75 |
73 |
148 |
+4 |
T-2nd |
|
|
75 |
76 |
151 |
+7 |
T-11th |
|
|
79 |
72 |
151 |
+7 |
T-11th |
|
|
82 |
73 |
155 |
+11 |
T-32nd |
|
|
83 |
73 |
156 |
+12 |
T-41st |
|
|
78 |
80 |
158 |
+14 |
T-48th |
|
|
83 |
82 |
165 |
+21 |
T-74th |
