JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – One more event remains for the Carson-Newman men's golf team this fall and it takes to Orlando for the McDonough Cup at Rio Pinar Country Club hosted by Rollins College.
This is the team's fourth straight year competing in this tournament and they posted their best showing in 2015. Jace Devault led the team by shooting even par for the event and Andrew Hall put up the group's second best score, posting a plus-two.
The Eagles last time on the course saw them post their best finish of the season, as they came in second at the State Farm Intercollegiate in Tazewell, Tenn. In a field that included number of South Atlantic Conference rivals, C-N finished ahead of Lenoir-Rhyne, Brevard, Anderson (S.C.), Coker, Catawba, Tusculum and Mars Hill.
Senior Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.) has been the most consistent player on the team, as he's posted a stroke average of 72.1 and has yet to shoot more than two-over in any round this year. He also has five rounds to his credit where he's finished either even or below par. Reese tied for eighth in C-N's first event of the year, the St. Leo Invitational and posted the team's second best score at Tazewell.
Coach Randy Wylie has also gotten solid play out of sophomore Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.), who played his best golf in the State Farm Intercollegiate. The second-year Eagle is not far behind Reese with a 72.3 stroke average. He also owns two of the three lowest rounds for Carson-Newman this season. No one on the roster can match the four-under 68 he carded in round one at Tazewell and he also has a 69 to his credit from the St. Leo Invitational.
C-N has also benefitted from the play of Tom Forster (Oundle, England), a freshman who finished each of the first two tournaments with his team's best score. He came in seventh in the St. Leo Invitational and has finished three rounds under par this season.
Also included in coach Wylie's roster for the event are sophomore Alex Hutson (Newport, Tenn.) and freshman Fintan McKenna (Westhill, UK). Hutson saw his first action of the fall in Tazewell and finished seven over par after a first round in which he shot a two-under 70. McKenna has played in all three of his team's tournaments during the current semester and he posted his best finish at the State Farm Intercollegiate, tying for 23rd at six-over.
Carson-Newman is one of 18 school that will be participating in a field that includes four ranked teams. The highest ranked squad is the host school, Rollins College, the No. 13 team in the nation. Also included in the competition are No. 14 Lander, No. 17 Newberry and No. 24 Flagler. The Eagles will also be battling SAC foes Wingate and Queens (N.C.)
Articles on both days of competition will be published on cneagles.com.
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