Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Monday, May 15
Middle Tennessee
at
NCAA College Grove Regional
Raider golfers ready for regionals
5/14/2017 7:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Team starts Monday at 8:55 AM
COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – After a two-year hiatus, Middle Tennessee's men's golf team is ready and anxious to get back into NCAA Regional play.
The Blue Raiders, who last were invited to an NCAA Regional in 2014, will kick off the three-day tournament Monday at The Grove Club in College Grove. It will be their seventh regional appearance in 10 years and eighth overall, with the other coming in 2000.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Not only is Middle Tennessee taking part in the tournament, but it is also hosting the event in conjunction with The Grove. The Blue Raiders, who are playing host to their first NCAA Regional in any sport since the 1979 NCAA basketball tournament, enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed, their fourth highest seed in school history. They are currently ranked No. 55 in the country by Golfstat.com.
"We have had this penciled on our schedule for a long time and now it's finally here," said Head Coach Brennan Webb. "We have had a good week of practice and the guys are just ready to compete against some of the nation's best."
Middle Tennessee had a strong season, culminating in a fourth-place finish in the Conference USA Championship that was its best conference tournament showing since also coming in fourth in the Sun Belt Championship in 2013.
The Blue Raiders' solid showing this season started way back in the fall, when they took home their first tournament title since 2014 with a victory in the Invitational at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Their 850 combined three-round score was good for a tie for eighth on the school's all-time list, and it was the first tournament victory for second-year head coach Brennan Webb.
After the victory at The Ocean Course, the Raiders returned home and got their first chance this season to see The Grove. They came home fourth in the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate at The Grove, carding an 880 three-round score.
Middle Tennessee's five-man roster for the regional looks like it has for most of the spring.
Senior Joey Savoie, the team's leader with a 71.3 stroke average this spring and an All-CUSA First-Team selection, will be joined by sophomore Marcus Byrd, junior Hoyeong Kim and freshmen Chip Thomas and Ilari Saulo.
Byrd paced the team in the fall at The Grove with a 1-under 215 and has proven in his two years that he enjoys the course. He's finished tied for third both times he's played at Tennessee's only Greg Norman Signature Designed Golf Course, carding a combined 2-under in five total rounds with scores of 71, 72, 74, 70 and 71.
Thomas and Saulo were both named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, with Saulo taking home C-USA Freshman of the Year honors after holding a 72.5 stroke average. The Finnish National Team member also was the only Blue Raider to win an individual title this season when he fired a 13-under 203 in the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational in October. His 203 tied the best three-round tournament total in school history.
Kim has enjoyed a career year in which he has averaged 74.1, more than a stroke better per round than his career average. He carded his first under-par tournament at the Mason Rudolph Championship in March.
The Blue Raiders will be fighting with Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, Clemson, Georgia, Missouri, Lipscomb, Kennesaw State, UCF, TCU, Troy, ETSU and Harvard to grab one of the top five places, which would advance them to the NCAA National Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, from May 26-31.
Middle Tennessee's lone NCAA Division I Championship appearance came in 2008. The Blue Raiders also took home the 1965 national championship in Division II.
Follow live scoring of the regional at golfstat.com or ncaa.com.
The Blue Raiders, who last were invited to an NCAA Regional in 2014, will kick off the three-day tournament Monday at The Grove Club in College Grove. It will be their seventh regional appearance in 10 years and eighth overall, with the other coming in 2000.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Not only is Middle Tennessee taking part in the tournament, but it is also hosting the event in conjunction with The Grove. The Blue Raiders, who are playing host to their first NCAA Regional in any sport since the 1979 NCAA basketball tournament, enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed, their fourth highest seed in school history. They are currently ranked No. 55 in the country by Golfstat.com.
"We have had this penciled on our schedule for a long time and now it's finally here," said Head Coach Brennan Webb. "We have had a good week of practice and the guys are just ready to compete against some of the nation's best."
Middle Tennessee had a strong season, culminating in a fourth-place finish in the Conference USA Championship that was its best conference tournament showing since also coming in fourth in the Sun Belt Championship in 2013.
The Blue Raiders' solid showing this season started way back in the fall, when they took home their first tournament title since 2014 with a victory in the Invitational at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Their 850 combined three-round score was good for a tie for eighth on the school's all-time list, and it was the first tournament victory for second-year head coach Brennan Webb.
After the victory at The Ocean Course, the Raiders returned home and got their first chance this season to see The Grove. They came home fourth in the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate at The Grove, carding an 880 three-round score.
Middle Tennessee's five-man roster for the regional looks like it has for most of the spring.
Senior Joey Savoie, the team's leader with a 71.3 stroke average this spring and an All-CUSA First-Team selection, will be joined by sophomore Marcus Byrd, junior Hoyeong Kim and freshmen Chip Thomas and Ilari Saulo.
Byrd paced the team in the fall at The Grove with a 1-under 215 and has proven in his two years that he enjoys the course. He's finished tied for third both times he's played at Tennessee's only Greg Norman Signature Designed Golf Course, carding a combined 2-under in five total rounds with scores of 71, 72, 74, 70 and 71.
Thomas and Saulo were both named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, with Saulo taking home C-USA Freshman of the Year honors after holding a 72.5 stroke average. The Finnish National Team member also was the only Blue Raider to win an individual title this season when he fired a 13-under 203 in the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational in October. His 203 tied the best three-round tournament total in school history.
Kim has enjoyed a career year in which he has averaged 74.1, more than a stroke better per round than his career average. He carded his first under-par tournament at the Mason Rudolph Championship in March.
The Blue Raiders will be fighting with Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, Clemson, Georgia, Missouri, Lipscomb, Kennesaw State, UCF, TCU, Troy, ETSU and Harvard to grab one of the top five places, which would advance them to the NCAA National Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, from May 26-31.
Middle Tennessee's lone NCAA Division I Championship appearance came in 2008. The Blue Raiders also took home the 1965 national championship in Division II.
Follow live scoring of the regional at golfstat.com or ncaa.com.
Players Mentioned
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