Raiders finish 6th at College Grove Regional

Monday, May 15

Middle Tennessee

NCAA College Grove Regional

5/17/2017 4:22:00 PM | Men's Golf

Video Highlights

Marcus Byrd finishes 1-under par to lead MT

By: Josh Vardaman

FINAL RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY

COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – A solid final round wasn't enough to propel Middle Tennessee into the NCAA Division I National Championship on Wednesday.

After a tough second round on Tuesday in which the Blue Raiders carded a 10-over 297, they turned it around in Wednesday's final round and finished with the second-best score of the day, a 3-over 291 that was only bested by Kennesaw State's 2-over 290.

The good round wasn't enough for MT, though, as it finished in a tie for sixth place overall with Troy, eight shots back of fifth-placed Lipscomb and a National Championship berth.

"We played well today. We just got off to a slow start and yesterday put us behind the eight ball," MT head coach Brennan Webb said. "To think where we were a year ago, to be disappointed to finish sixth in a regional is pretty astounding to think about how far we've come and the hard work these guys have put in."

Wednesday's conditions were the hardest of the three days for the players with a strong wind for most of the day.

The Blue Raiders benefitted from an early tee time, though, and after firing a combined 3-over score on the back nine to start the day, they finished with 10 birdies on the front to close the tournament.

Sophomore Marcus Byrd was the low man of the day and the week, and it was on the front nine where he did most of his damage in the final round.

After starting the day with bogeys on three of his first four holes, Byrd rallied to finish the rest of the round 5 under, including a 3-under score on the front nine coming in. He concluded with a 2-under 70 to end the week in eighth place with a 1-under 215, two strokes from advancing to the National Championship as an individual.

"I started off kind of rough," he said. "I just felt like I needed to let the stress off and play my game, and that's what happened. It ended up being a good round."

Senior Joey Savoie came home tied for 13^th at 2 over, while freshman Chip Thomas was tied for 17^th at 4 over, freshman Ilari Saulo was tied for 57^th at 13 over and junior Hoyeong Kim was 66^th at 15 over.

Not only was it Middle Tennessee's first time playing in a regional tournament since 2014, but it was also its first time hosting a golf regional in school history in conjunction with The Grove Club.

The Blue Raiders are hoping it is the first of many regionals to come for them and The Grove.

"It was just a phenomenal job done by everyone associated with The Grove Club and MT Athletics," Webb said. "What Whit Turnbow and his staff have done, I think I've been to nine regionals as a coach or player and I know I'm biased, but this is the best one I've ever been to. I'm just proud of everybody, proud to be associated with MTSU and really excited about the future."

Only Savoie, who led the team this season with a 71.3 stroke average, will graduate from this year's team, making Webb and the rest of the Blue Raiders excited about what the future may bring.

"For a young team, this is incredible," the head coach said. "We're going to lose one guy from our top seven players and reload in the next couple of years, so I think this is just the beginning."