Men’s golf team finishes 8th in Murray State Invite

Bob Reynolds, Sports Editor

The Eastern men’s golf team finished in eighth place out of eight teams in the Murray State Invitational over the past couple of days.

The Panthers shot 932 for the tournament at the par-71 Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Ky.

Eastern shot its best round in the first round of the tournament. The 296 the Panthers shot was the fourth best round they have shot in the past two years.

Senior Austin Sproles shot a low-round of 2-under, 69 in the first round of the tournament.  Sproles finished with a 13-over, 84 and a 12-over, 83 in the final two rounds. He finished in 54th place overall.

Freshman Alvaro Hernandez led Eastern with shooting a 12-over, 225 for the tournament. Hernandez shot two rounds of 3-over, 74 and then fired a 6-over, 77 Tuesday.

Junior Daniel Hughes had two rounds in the 70’s after shooting even-par, 71 in the first round and then 8-over, 79 in the second round.

Hughes finished the tournament tied for 43 with shooting a 231.

Sophomore Alex Gowin shot a 7-over, 78 in the final round of the tournament Tuesday and finished in 57th place.

Host Murray State shot 1-over as a team for the three rounds of the tournament.

Senior Brock Simmons shot 3-under combined with a low round of 2-under 69 and tied for first place with Alabama State junior Branson Ferrier with a score of 210.

Simmons teammate Preston French shot the lowest round of the tournament when he shot a 5-under 66 and finished in third place with a three-round total of 213.

Murray State junior Matt Zakutney shot a three-round total of 216 and shot a 2-under, 69 in the first round of the tournament.

Racer senior Jared Gosser was the fourth Murray State golfer to finish in the top 10 as he tied for seventh place with a 4-over, 217.

As a team, the Racers shot a 285, 287 and a 281.

Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech finished in second place, 16 strokes behind Murray State.

The Golden Eagles had three players in the top 10 with senior’s Bryce Kendrick and Adam Cunningham.

Senior Bryce Kendrick shot a 3-over, 216 for the tournament and tied for fourth. Also, senior Adam Cunningham shot a 4-over, 217 and tied for fourth.

Senior Mitchell Thomas was the other Golden Eagle to shoot in the top 10 after he shot three rounds of 1-over, 73 for the tournament. Thomas tied for 10th place.

Alabama State finished in third place, just one stroke behind Tennessee Tech.

Ferrier tied for first place after shooting a 4-under, 67 Tuesday. Ferrier shot a 3-under, 210.

Eastern will be in action again next week at the SIU Edwardsville Fall Invitational.

 

Bob Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]