BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS! Forster, #20 Eagles earn first place honors at SAC Championship
ANDERSON, S.C. – An outstanding 68 score that put Tom Forster (Oundle, England) at five-under in the tournament helped him secure the individual title while the No. 20 Eagles notched their second-straight South Atlantic Conference Championship title on Tuesday.
VIDEO: Randy Wylie Interview
ANDERSON, S.C. – An outstanding 68 score that put Tom Forster (Oundle, England) at five-under in the tournament helped him secure the individual title while the No. 20 Eagles notched their second-straight South Atlantic Conference Championship title on Tuesday.
This marks the fourth conference title in program history, making Carson-Newman the first team to win it in back-to-back years since Newberry in 2008 and 2009. C-N becomes just the second team this decade to capture the title thrice, also winning back in 2014.
In their second consecutive tournament win of the season, the Eagles as a group were the only team to shoot under par in the final round of play with a one-under score of 287, pushing them to an 878 total at +14.
"The team fought hard all week," head coach Randy Wylie said. "I am extremely happy for the guys in general. They have fought all year and to have this happen in front of a lot of Eagles fans makes it that much better."
Forster was lights out on Tuesday at five-under par to become the tournament MVP. He started the morning at three-under thanks to a trio of birdies in the front nine before a bogey and two birdies stopped him from mirroring his score in the later portion of the day. The sophomore clinched the victory with a putt for par on the 18th, giving him a 211 total through the three rounds of competition.
VIDEO: Tom Forster Interview
Forster now has two tournament wins this season.
"Tom played really well winning the individual trophy," Wylie mentioned. "He did a great job building on the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate win."
The last time Carson-Newman won the title and had a player win the individual title was 2004 when Tanner Davis was named the SAC Tournament MVP.
#CNMG's @tomforster88 for the ��. Eagles are SAC Champs! Forster brings home the individual title. pic.twitter.com/CaW0t0QsSr
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) April 10, 2018
Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.) was the next closest Eagle on the leaderboard falling to 12th with a 222 total. Tuesday saw the junior shoot a +4 score of 76. He ended the front nine at two-over thanks to a trio of birdies and bogeys along with a double bogey on the sixth hole. In the back nine, he recorded another +2 outing, this time coming from a birdie on 10 before shooting three-straight bogeys.
Two strokes behind Marcinelli sat Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) and Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) in a tie for 13th at eight over par with a 224. They both moved seven spots up the leaderboard from the second round.
Headrick shot his best round of the tournament on Tuesday with an even 72. The junior was on par for all but the eighth hole in the front nine to land at one-under at the turn before facing another birdie and a pair of bogeys in the back half.
Not saying @JakeHeadrick predicted #CNMG's @SAC_Athletics Championship win but... pic.twitter.com/70qhDfsrLR
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) April 10, 2018
Tyler also saw improvement in the final round of play with an even 72 of his own. The freshman shot a trio of birdies and bogeys on Tuesday.
Alex Hutson (Newport, Tenn.) made a six-spot improvement in the final round. The junior was even through the front nine with a bogey and birdie before going three-over in the back half due to a pair of birdies and five bogeys. He concluded the event at +13 with a 229 three-round total.
Eighth-ranked Newberry was the second-best team in the field with a +22 total of 886 while Wingate landed in third with an 891.
Anderson's Jake Miller who led the field through the first two rounds ended the tournament in second just one stroke behind Forster. Two shots out of the lead was Queens' Henry Bryden with a 213.
With the win, the Eagles secure an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships for the South/Southeast Regional that will take place from May 7-9 in Conover, N.C. The rest of the team selections will be announced on April 27. For more information, be sure to follow @CNathletics on Twitter and check cneagles.com.
|
Carson-Newman |
298 |
293 |
287 |
878 |
+14 |
1st |
|
71 |
72 |
68 |
211 |
-5 |
1st |
|
|
74 |
72 |
76 |
222 |
+6 |
12th |
|
|
78 |
74 |
72 |
224 |
+8 |
T-13th |
|
|
77 |
75 |
72 |
224 |
+8 |
T-13th |
|
|
76 |
78 |
75 |
229 |
+13 |
T-25th |
