Blue Raiders clinch wire-to-wire win in spring opener

Sunday, February 7

Florence, S.C.

Middle Tennessee

Raines Company Intercollegiate

2/7/2021 4:53:00 PM | Men's Golf

Raines Company Intercollegiate Final

McKay claims runner-up finish with historic weekend

By: @MTAthletics

FLORENCE, S.C. – Middle Tennessee Men's Golf triumphed for the second time in its last two tournaments Sunday as it closed out the Raines Company Intercollegiate in South Carolina at 30-under par (280-274-280=834) to claim the team title.

The Blue Raiders went low all weekend at Country Club of South Carolina, leading wire-to-wire with a final 54-hole mark that ranks as the third lowest team total in Middle Tennessee Men's Golf history. It is also the second lowest score relative to par in MT history behind only the 41-under par scorecard turned in at the 2007 Jaguar Intercollegiate.

"What a great team win by our guys," Assistant Coach Cody Proveaux said. "Almost everyone had a score count at least once and that's what wins tournaments. Each guy knew that if they played their best this week we could win."

The top of the individual leaderboard had quite the Blue Raider look to it, as three Raiders finished tied for third or better with a fourth inside the Top 20 of the 64-man field.

Graduate transfer Connor McKay made a hard run at low medalist honors on Sunday, using a bogey-free 6-under par 66 to finish the weekend 13-under par (69-68-66=203) and six strokes clear of the third place tie.

"I struck the ball pretty well this week, and having (Volunteer Assistant Mark) Lester out there helped keep things fun," McKay stated. "I really didn't let bad shots get to me this week. The conditions were tough out there, so I knew it was going to be tough for everyone."

Perhaps a worthy consolation for McKay after finishing two strokes back of the individual title, however, is carding a 54-hole total that matches a program record shared by Blue Raider greats Marcus Byrd (twice), Ilari Saulo, Brett Patterson and Kent Bulle. Of the now six occurrences of 54-hole totals of 203, McKay's is just the fourth to come on a Par 72 course.

"I've only been here for a semester and I made some big changes in the fall, so to accomplish something like this at a program like Middle Tennessee and to see that hard work pay off is pretty cool," McKay exclaimed.

Michael Barnard joined McKay with a bogey-free day, carding a 3-under par 69 to move into a three-way tie for third at 7-under par (71-69-69=209) alongside true freshman teammate Owen Stamper (68-70-71=209).

"It was a bit of a tough week for Mike," Proveaux added. "He didn't play his best but he did a great job of saving par and taking advantage of the easy holes.

"Owen is continuing to improve and the hard work he has put in really showed this week. Connor did a great job playing his game and not worrying about what anyone else was doing. He was locked in from start to finish."

Blue Raider senior Tanner Owens earned a share of 17^th place on the week as the fourth Blue Raider to finish the tournament under par, going 1-under (72-69-74=215) in South Carolina.

Gavin Clements battled through the final day to post a final mark of 3-over par (76-68-75=219) while freshman Kevin Jegers closed out his debut tournament at 6-over par (77-70-75=222)

MT individuals Josh Morris and Palmer Sadlowski turned in final scorecards of 7-over par (74-73-76=223) and 14-over par (81-71-78=230), respectively.

"Starting off any semester with a win is huge for our confidence," Proveaux said. "Knowing that we can get the job done will really help us down the road in future events and the postseason."

Up next for Middle Tennessee is a trip to the Sunshine State, where it will compete on March 1-2 in the Southern Invitational at The Falls Club in Palm Beach, Fla.