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Monday, September 12

Kiawah Island, SC

Middle Tennessee

The Invitational at Kiawah

9/13/2016 2:20:00 PM | Men's Golf

Men's golf wins season opening tournament

By: @MTAthletics

FINAL RESULTS

KIAWAH ISLAND, SC – The Middle Tennessee men's golf team opened up the 2016 fall season by making a statement and winning the Invitational at The Ocean Course. The Blue Raiders shot an impressive 850 (tied for 8^th best 54-hole total in school history) on the par 72, 7,115-yard Ocean Course at the Kiawah Island Resort to win by six strokes.

The Blue Raiders won a tournament for the first time since taking the 2014 General Hackler Championship, which was also in the state of South Carolina. The victory also went down as the first for second year coach Brennan Webb.

"It's great to get a win this early in the season," said Webb. "I am extremely proud of how the guys handled adversity today after a bad start and fighting all day in some very difficult conditions. It is the one thing we have worked on the most over the past 12 months so to see it pay off today was very satisfying."

MT outlasted Ole Miss who shot 856 and Maryland who came in third with a 288 total.

Sophomore James Beckner (Kingsport, TN) led the Blue Raiders with a career-best seventh place finish. Beckner, who led the entire field in par 4 scoring at 5-under, was 4-under for the tournament with a score of 212, including a team-best even par 72 in the final round.

Freshman Ilari Saulo (Helsinki, Finland) tied for eighth in his collegiate debut with a 213. Saulo, who shared the tournament lead with 41 pars and was tied for fourth in par 5 scoring, had a final round 73.

Freshman Chip Thomas (Knoxville, TN) enjoyed an impressive showing in his first tournament by tying for 15^th. Thomas had a 215 total after posting a final round 74.

Senior Connor Slane tied for 19^th and was one shot back of Thomas with a 216 total. Slane carded a final round 75.

Newcomer and senior Joey Savoie tied for 38^th after posting a final round 79. Savoie, who tied for fifth in the field with 15 birdies, finished with a 219 cumulative score.

Sophomore Marcus Byrd, playing as an individual tied for 75^th. Byrd had a 229 score and a final round 78.

The Blue Raiders will now prepare for hosting its own tournament beginning this weekend. The Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate at The Grove gets underway Sunday and runs through Tuesday.