Barnard earns top 10 finish at Mason Rudolph Championship

Wednesday, April 12

Franklin, Tenn.

Middle Tennessee

Mason Rudolph Championship

4/12/2023 3:25:00 PM | Men's Golf

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By: Thomas Donley, MT Athletics

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Michael Barnard's tee shot on the 18th hole ended up in the bunker. An iron to the middle of the green and a long putt gave him an eagle to close the Mason Rudolph Championship with a third-round score of 68 (-3). The junior from Hendersonville, Tenn., finished the event in eighth place at 208 (-5) as Middle Tennessee placed 10th with a 54-hole score of 867 (+15) on the par-71 South Course at Vanderbilt Legends Club.

Michael Barnard for eagle on 18!#BlueRaiders | @m_barn2 pic.twitter.com/Z5uvjMFxaJ
— MT Men's Golf (@MT_MGolf) April 12, 2023

After going 1-over on the front nine, Barnard turned it on for the back, carding three birdies before his eagle punctuated his lowest three-round score of the year and second under-par tournament in his last three outings. His 54-hole total of 208 tied his career low.

Markus Varjun carded a 71 (E) in Wednesday's third round to tie for 35th at 217 (+4). He tied Barnard for the team lead with three birdies in the third round.

Gavin Clements recorded his lowest total score since the first week of October at 220 (+7), tying for 54th. He birdied two of his final four holes on his way to a 74 (+3).

Owen Stamper tied for 68that 225 (+12) after recording a 74 (+3) Wednesday. Kevin Jegers rounds out the lineup in 81st place at 230 (+17).

By the Numbers
-6 – The five Blue Raiders were a combined 6-under on the final hole, as each player recorded a birdie or better.
12 – Varjun led the Blue Raiders with 12 birdies in the tournament.
10 – Ten of MTSU's 13 birdies came on the back nine.

Coach's Comments: Mark McEntire
"I was really happy with the way Michael Barnard played. I thought he had a fantastic tournament. He's the returning conference champion, and it's good to see that he's got that going again. I thought Markus had another solid tournament for us. I thought Gavin played well. We just had Owen adn Kevin kind of let us down. In these big fields, we've got to have them to be able to compete."

Tournament Notes

Playing on their home course, No. 1 Vanderbilt won the tournament at 818 (-34), winning by a margin of 23 strokes over second-place No. 14 Tennessee.
The Commodores' Gordon Sargent, the No. 1 player in the country, won the individual title at 196 (-17).
Up next for MTSU is the Conference USA Championship, held April 24-27 in Texarkana, Texas.

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