Mynatt captures runner-up, career-low at Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) closed out the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate with a career-low 205 that was good enough for second-place while Carson-Newman finished in fourth at the Sevierville Golf Club. 

Mynatt was four-under through the final round with back-to-back birdies on the last two holes, sitting in a tie for first with UT Martin's Nick Wolf who still had three holes to play by the time the Eagles entered the clubhouse. His top-spot counterpart birdied the par-3 17th to take the lead. 

His lowest three-round performance before this came at the 2019 UNG Fall Invitational where he carded a 213. 

"I'm really happy with how I played this week, especially after the start of the semester I had," Mynatt said"I'm not going to lie, I wanted to win. It's my backyard, home course, wanted to represent the school well, but I'm happy with second. I don't want to say I'm settling, but I know there's a lot more room for me to grow, to play better, but I'm happy with this week."

The junior stayed under par in each round of the week. His 205 lands him in a tie with former Eagle golfer Jake Headrick for the second-lowest 54-hole score in the event. Headrick notched that total as the top medalist in 2017. The only Eagle to score better than that duo was Tom Forster with a 203 in 2018.

As a whole, C-N was 2-under through the final 18 holes of action, going 6-under for the tournament with an 858. The team fired 17 birdies in the round with four Eagles improving their scores from Monday to Tuesday.

With the finish, Wylie's group made its way back into Golfstat's national ranking, now sitting at No. 24 after finishing 16 shots better than Findlay who went from No. 7 to No. 13.

"We had a much better week, overall, from top to bottom," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "Really proud of Jake, his best collegiate finish, for sure. Just looking forward as this is a building block to WindRiver and then the postseason. I think they're already super motivated. We just need to keep doing our thing. I think it just shows them that the work they are putting in is starting to pay off. I think we were rusty the first couple of weeks after not playing for a year, but now I think they are back in the groove." 

Mynatt went over par on just two holes in the final round, firing a team-high six birdies, three of those coming on par-5s. 

The only other Eagle to finish in the red for the week was Will Collins (Knoxville, Tenn.), 10 shots behind Mynatt at one-under to tie for 11th. The junior also had a career-best 54-hole outing with his 215. On Tuesday, he carded his first double-bogey of the week along with a trio of bogeys and two birdies. He was the only Eagle to shoot higher between the second and third rounds.

Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored an even 216 throughout the event, shaving five shots off of Monday's outing for a 71 in the final round, landing him a share of 15th. He shot back-to-back bogeys midway through the front nine but gained ground on three birdies. 

Mirroring his opening round score, Jonathan Nielsen (Hørsholm, Denmark) shot a 74 on Tuesday to finish 8-over. After two-straight rounds with a pair of birdies, he found just one in the final 18, en route to a 224 total. 

Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) snatched his best round of the week with a 73, moving him into a tie for 50th at 10-over. The senior started the day with a triple-bogey on the par-4 1st-hole but rebounded with five birdies, three of those coming in the back nine. 

Morehead State won the event in a two-hole playoff with UT Martin after the two teams tied at 13-under through 54-holes. Hosting Tennessee Tech rounded out the top three at 11-under with an 853. 

Mynatt and Wolf's close race at the top of the leaderboard gave them a six-shot lead on the rest of the field. Morehead State's Joe Muschong was the next closest, going 7-under-par for a third-place finish. 

Carson-Newman will wait a week until it gets back to action, staying in East Tennessee. It will make the trek west to Lenoir City for the Tennessee River Rumble March 29-30 at the WindRiver Golf Club. 

Carson-Newman 

281 

291 

 286 

858 

-6 

4th 

67 

70 

68 

205 

-11 

2nd 

71 

69 

75 

215 

-1 

T-11th 

69 

76 

71 

216 

E 

T-15th 

74 

76 

74 

224 

+8 

T-42nd 

75 

78 

73 

226 

+10 

T-50th