HICKORY, N.C. – Wrapping up the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Men's Golf Championships, No. 13 Carson-Newman placed three of its golfers inside the top 20.
No. 13 Carson-Newman finishes the SAC Championships with 16-over 880 team score for the tournament, good for seventh place. C-N made 295 strokes in the final round, a 7-over tally. The Eagles finished just six strokes out of third place.
"We really struggled on the finishing holes all week," Carson-Newman head coach Randy Wylie said. "Fine final rounds today by Jake and Hayden. This was not the tournament finish we wanted and expected. Hopefully, we will still get a NCAA bid and can make amends at that event."
C-N was one of four teams to place three golfers in the top 20.
Luke Stock (Oxted, England) wrapped up the championships with a 4-over 76 final round tally. The round did not include any birdies, but Stock did manage to roll in 15 pars and six straight to end his day. He recovered from a slow start, in which he made bogeys on two of his first three holes. The round was still good enough to keep Stock as C-N's top finisher this week, tying for tenth place.
Hayden Hunneke (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had many highlights in his final round at the SAC Championships. After a bogey on holes 3 and 4, Hunneke immediately by holing out for eagle on the par 4, 5th hole. He made two birdies in his final four holes on the front nine to record a 2-under score. His third birdie of the day came on the par 5, 12th hole. Three bogeys in his final six holes allowed him to finish at even par. The even par round is his 19th par or better round this year. Hunneke finished in a tie for 17th.
Elliot MacGregor (Shepperton, Middlesex) recorded a 3-over 75 in the final round. The sophomore made his only birdie of the day on the par four, tenth hole. Through 13 holes, MacGregor was even par, but bogeyed three of his final five holes to finish 3-over. The sophomore finished as C-N's third golfer in the top 20.
Playing in his final SAC Championship round, Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored his tournament best, even par 72. The graduate student played well throughout his final round and was 2-under par after 15 holes. He went bogey, birdie, double bogey to finish his even par round. Mynatt recorded three birdies in his even par final round. The round is Mynatt's 13th par or better effort this season.
Aidan Powter (Sydney, Australia) concluded his first SAC Championships with a 6-over 78. His lone birdie in the final round came on the par 4, sixth hole. He made eleven pars on the day, including three straight pars to end his day.
No. 1 Anderson ran away with the tournament championship, going 19-under par during the three-day event, winning by 23 shots. Leading Anderson was Alejandro DeCastro, who took home individual medalist honors with a 9-under week. The Trojans secure the SAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Southeast regional.
C-N finished in the top five for scoring average on the par 3s and 5s this week. The Eagles finished with the most made eagles (4) for the week. C-N made 160 pars and 42 birdies over the course of the three days.
No. 13 Carson-Newman will now turn its attention to the Southeast regional rankings, which are set to be released next Friday April 27th.
Be certain to check cneagles.com and @CN_Eagles for the latest news on the men's golf team and the rest of Carson-Newman athletics.
