VALDOSTA, Ga. - A stellar round by Jonathan Nielsen moved Carson-Newman up three spots to an eleventh place finish in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional.
Nielsen shot a four-under 68 in his final round of the season, the second-lowest score of the field in the third round. The sophomore recorded five birdies, including three straight on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.
Over three rounds, Nielsen finishes tied for 20th with a one-under, 215. His 12 birdies are tied with teammates Alex Hodge and Jackson Tyler for eighth-most in the field. Nielsen recorded the fifth-best score on par fives, carding six-under and an average score of 4.50 this week at the Kinderlou Golf Club.
As a team, the Eagles finished eleventh in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional. On the final day, the orange and blue carded a seven-over, 295 to end the tournament. C-N finished seven strokes away from qualifying for the NCAA Championship round, finishing the week with a total score of a nine-over 873.
Carson-Newman saw the most success this week on par threes, as the convocation were the only squad to finish under-par on the shortest holes in the peach state. C-N shot three-under with an average score of 2.95. The Eagles' 51 birdies were the second-most of the field, behind Lee's 55.
Tyler finishes tied with Nielsen for 20th with a three-round, one-under 215. The senior shot a one-over, 73 on his final day of play in Valdosta. The Wilmington, N.C. native finished the week with the best score on par threes for the entire field, going five-under on the shortest holes with an average score of 2.58.
Jake Mynatt and Hodge both tied for 68th to end the tournament. Mynatt ended his week in the peach state with an eight-over 80 in the final round. His week ends with him shooting an eight-over, 225. Mynatt's one-under, 2.92 average on par threes was ninth-best in the field.
Hodge shot his best round of the week, shooting a three-over, 75 to end the week. The Knoxville native carded six birdies in the last round, including four straight on the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes.
Will Collins finishes the tournament in a tie for 86th with an 11-over, 227 after shooting a seven-over 79 in the final round.
Limestone wins the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship after finishing the week with a 17-under 847. The Saints along with Barry, Lee, North Georgia, Georgia Southwestern and Florida Southern will move on to the NCAA National Championship round. Individually, AJ Ewart of Barry wins the player championship with a 13-under, 203.
The Carson-Newman men's golf team will return to play beginning in the fall of 2022. Fans can follow along with news and notes on the Eagles at cneagles.com
