Blue Raiders finish Schenkel Invitational in third place

Sunday, March 19

Statesboro, Ga.

Middle Tennessee

Schenkel Invitational

3/19/2023 2:06:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Thomas Donley, MT Athletics

STATESBORO, Ga. — Middle Tennessee men's golf moved up from fourth to third place Sunday on the final day of Georgia State's Schenkel Invitational. Michael Barnard, Owen Stamper and Kevin Jegers all carded under-par rounds Sunday and finished the tournament in the top 20. The Blue Raiders finished behind only No. 19 GSU and No. 24 Mississippi State.

Barnard finished the tournament tied for third, two strokes away from an individual title. He carded a 71 (-1) in the third round for a 54-hole score of 210 (-6), two strokes lower than his previous low score of the season. Barnard started the day with his first of four birdies.

Jegers' 70 (-2) was MTSU's best score of the third round. He birdied three holes Sunday, including two of the first three he played. The Estonian finished the event tied for 16th at 216 (E).

Stamper joined Jegers in 16th at 216 (E) after carding a 71 (-1) for his second consecutive under-par round after a slow start to the tournament. Stamper made par on 11 of his first 12 holes but sat at 2-over for the day heading into the final six holes. The Scottsville, Ky., native birdied four of those final six holes to secure his fifth top-20 finish in six tournaments this year.

Gavin Clements notched his best score of the tournament Sunday with a 73 (+1), picking up a pair of birdies. He tied for 53rd at 224 (+8). Markus Varjun shot a 78 (+6) to end the tourney tied for 43rd at 222 (+6).

Luke Perkins, playing as an individual, tied for 68th at 229 (+13) after a 76 (+4) in the third round.

By the Numbers
12 – Stamper led the Blue Raiders with 12 birdies in the tournament.
-7 – MTSU recorded just its second under-par tournament score of the season and its first since the season-opening Jim Rivers Intercollegiate.
3 – The Blue Raiders finished ahead of three top-50 teams in No. 41 Liberty (fourth place), No. 43 Notre Dame (t-9th) and No. 45 North Florida (t-7th).

Coach's Comments: Mark McEntire
"Great finish. I'm very happy for this team. We beat some very good teams, which should help with the rankings. Fantastic finish for Michael. He is such a good player, and this will be good for him for the rest of the year. Great rounds today from Kevin and Owen. Also, Gavin put in a solid round, and I'm very happy with this finish."

Tournament Notes

Georgia Southern won the team title at 837 (-27), 11 strokes ahead of Mississippi State.
GSU's Ben Carr won the individual title at 208 (-8).
The Blue Raiders are back in action April 3-4 at Mississippi State's Mossy Oak Intercollegiate.

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