Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Tuesday, February 19
Rio Grande, PR
All Day
Middle Tennessee
at
Puerto Rico Classic
Byrd claims first title in Puerto Rico
2/19/2019 12:30:00 PM | Men's Golf
Senior tops 18 players ranked in the Top 100 nationally
Final Results
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Senior men's golfer Marcus Byrd gave the Blue Raiders back-to-back individual co-medalists on Tuesday as his 6-under par performance landed him in a three-way tie for first to follow teammate Cooper Sears' co-medalist performance last week in Utah.
Middle Tennessee used its best round of the week, a 1-under par 287, to move back up the team leaderboard three spots and earn a tie for 11th place in the challenging field at the Puerto Rico Classic.
"Congratulations to Marcus Byrd and to our team today," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. I am proud of the way they played today and happy Marcus got the win!"
A birdie from senior James Beckner on his final hole of the tournament left the Blue Raiders in step with the No. 5 team in the nation, Alabama, at 15-over par (295-297-287=879) on the week.
MT also defeated East Carolina, Maryland and Virginia Tech and fell just two strokes shy of moving up to ninth place on the final day.
"We were able to pass some good teams today and were a few shots away from an exceptional tournament," McEntire added.
Byrd finished his stay in Puerto Rico with a 2-under par 70 to share the individual title with Clemson's Bryson Nimmer and NC State's Benjamin Shipp, the No. 28 and No. 62 ranked individuals in the nation. The Atlanta native also earned wins over 18 Top 100 ranked golfers on the week.
It marked the first individual title of Byrd's incredible career, which now includes 11 Top 10 finishes and seven Top 5 finishes across four years.
"It's a dream come true," Byrd stated. "I've been working hard for it and I can't really put into words how to descrime it. It's an incredible feeling to get my first win and it feels good to come back off of an injury and start the season off with a win."
In addition to Byrd's strong final round, sophomore Cooper Sears also helped MT's final round rise on the leaderboard with a 3-under 69 that landed him in a tie for 26th at 1-over par for the week.
The Blue Raiders improved across the board on their final day at Rio Mar Country Club with Tanner Owens and Palmer Sadlowski turning in rounds 2-over par 74 while Beckner's 3-over par 75, highlighted by three birdies in his final four holes, rounded out the scoring for Middle Tennessee.
"We were able to pull it together after a rough day yesterday," Byrd said of the team effort in the final round. "It feels good to know that everyone put in that effort to grind and get back. They know that as long as we have holes left we've got a chance and that's all that matters."
Now with one of the toughest tournaments in the nation behind them, the Blue Raiders return home to begin preparing for Georgia Southern's Schenkel Invitational on March 15-17.
"We have some things to work on when we return home, but we will be ready to go when we play next," McEntire said.
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Senior men's golfer Marcus Byrd gave the Blue Raiders back-to-back individual co-medalists on Tuesday as his 6-under par performance landed him in a three-way tie for first to follow teammate Cooper Sears' co-medalist performance last week in Utah.
Middle Tennessee used its best round of the week, a 1-under par 287, to move back up the team leaderboard three spots and earn a tie for 11th place in the challenging field at the Puerto Rico Classic.
"Congratulations to Marcus Byrd and to our team today," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. I am proud of the way they played today and happy Marcus got the win!"
A birdie from senior James Beckner on his final hole of the tournament left the Blue Raiders in step with the No. 5 team in the nation, Alabama, at 15-over par (295-297-287=879) on the week.
MT also defeated East Carolina, Maryland and Virginia Tech and fell just two strokes shy of moving up to ninth place on the final day.
"We were able to pass some good teams today and were a few shots away from an exceptional tournament," McEntire added.
Byrd finished his stay in Puerto Rico with a 2-under par 70 to share the individual title with Clemson's Bryson Nimmer and NC State's Benjamin Shipp, the No. 28 and No. 62 ranked individuals in the nation. The Atlanta native also earned wins over 18 Top 100 ranked golfers on the week.
It marked the first individual title of Byrd's incredible career, which now includes 11 Top 10 finishes and seven Top 5 finishes across four years.
"It's a dream come true," Byrd stated. "I've been working hard for it and I can't really put into words how to descrime it. It's an incredible feeling to get my first win and it feels good to come back off of an injury and start the season off with a win."
In addition to Byrd's strong final round, sophomore Cooper Sears also helped MT's final round rise on the leaderboard with a 3-under 69 that landed him in a tie for 26th at 1-over par for the week.
The Blue Raiders improved across the board on their final day at Rio Mar Country Club with Tanner Owens and Palmer Sadlowski turning in rounds 2-over par 74 while Beckner's 3-over par 75, highlighted by three birdies in his final four holes, rounded out the scoring for Middle Tennessee.
"We were able to pull it together after a rough day yesterday," Byrd said of the team effort in the final round. "It feels good to know that everyone put in that effort to grind and get back. They know that as long as we have holes left we've got a chance and that's all that matters."
Now with one of the toughest tournaments in the nation behind them, the Blue Raiders return home to begin preparing for Georgia Southern's Schenkel Invitational on March 15-17.
"We have some things to work on when we return home, but we will be ready to go when we play next," McEntire said.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Raider Report Game 8 - MTSU vs. Jacksonville State University
Tuesday, October 28
Derek Mason LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille Week 10
Tuesday, October 28
Blue Raider Notebook Presented by TOA - October 27th
Monday, October 27
MTSU Football Game 8 - Breast Cancer Awareness Night / Trick or Treating
Monday, October 27
