CHUCKEY, Tenn. - Will Collins shot a career best six-under in the final round of the SAC Men's Golf Championship to lead the Eagles on Tuesday, Apr. 12.
The junior carded six birdies on his final day at the Graysburg Hills golf course. Collins finishes tied for tenth with teammates Jackson Tyler and Jake Mynatt with a three-under 213 score for the tournament.
It is Collins' new career best round after shooting a 67 at the Queens Fall Invitational earlier this season. It is just the third round of the year that Collins has shot under 70 strokes this year, the last being a three-under 69 in the second round of the Hurricane Invitational. The Knoxville native finished with an even-par 3.00 average on par threes this week.
As a team, no. 2/4 Carson-Newman shot an eleven-under 277 in their final round at Graysburg Hills. The Eagles shot a field-best one-under 2.95 average score on par threes in the final round, and shot eight-under on par fives.
For the entire tournament, the Eagles tied no. 25 Queens for the best score on par threes, averaging an eight-over, 3.13 score. The convocations 166 pars were the second-most of the field, just one behind the Royals' 167.
Queens won the SAC Men's Golf Championship with an impressive 27-under 837 for the week.
"The Eagles played a much better round today," says Director of Golf Randy Wylie. "Stellar 67s from Will Collins and Jackson Tyler led the way. This group didn't play their best this week, but I'm proud that they always fight back."
Jackson Tyler shot up the leaderboard on the final day, carding an impressive five-under, 67 in the final round. The senior carded six birdies, including three straight on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes to move all the way up to a tie for tenth place with a three-round, three-under 213 score. The Wilmington, N.C. native's 26 pars are tied for the third-most in the entire tournament field.
For the week, Tyler shot a one-over 3.08 average on par threes, the seventh best of the field. His 37 pars were second-most in the field.
Jake Mynatt shot a one-under 71 on the final day of the tournament, finishing with yet another three-round, three-under 213 score for the Eagles. Mynatt was two-under through the front-nine, but bogeys on the tenth and the 18th holes had him finish the back-nine at one-over.
Mynatt shot eight-under and averaged a 4.33 score on par fives this week, the fifth-best of the field. He was one of just four players this week to record multiple eagles at the SAC Men's Golf Championship.
Jonathan Nielsen shot an even-par 72 for the second time this week, finishing tied at 14th with a two-under, 214 score. His 38 pars were tied for the most in the tournament. The sophomore averaged a one-under 2.92 score on par threes, the second-best in the tournament.
Alex Hodge recorded his best round of the week, shooting a three-over 75 in the final round. Hodge finishes tied for 52nd with a 14-over 230 score.
Following a sudden victory playoff, Limestone's Pontus Samuelsson earned medalist honors with a three-round total of 202, 14-under-par. Queens' Drake Wilcox also shot 202, 14-under-par for the tournament in second place, while Newberry's Tom Bueschges and Queens' Ollie Smith tied for third at 11-under-par, 205.
The Eagles, who sit at first in the NCAA Southeast Regional rankings at the time, will wait to see what seed they earn for the NCAA Southeast Regional. The NCAA will announce seedings on ncaa.com on Friday, Apr. 22. Fans can stay up-to-date with all of the Carson-Newman men's golf action at cneagles.com.
