Story by Robert Jaco
Staff writer
Murray State men’s golf finished its season on a high note on Wednesday, placing third in the OVC Championship at the Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The Racers moved up one spot into third place in round three while scoring three day totals of 285-288-287?860.
With Murray State’s third place finish, the Racers finished the 2018-19 season with consecutive top-3 finishes.
Head Coach Eddie Hunt thought his team played exceptionally well this week.
“I’m extremely proud of this team,” Hunt said. “I thought they all played excellent and contributed to a really great tournament. We struggled some in the spring but after getting the lineup we needed we had all five players contribute to the team.”
Jacksonville State took home first place on scores of 277-282-277—836 while Gamecock sophomore Jesus Montenegro received first place for individuals with scores of 67-68-69?204.
The Gamecocks finished the tournament with four of their five participants finishing in the top 10 with sophomore Quim Vidal Mora placing second behind teammate Montenegro by three strokes.
Belmont finished the tournament in second place on scores of 275-289-283?847 with Bruins senior Noah Trenkler placing in third place with scores of 68-74-66?208.
Junior Avery Edwards, from Paducah, Kentucky, was the Racers’ highest finisher, ending the tournament tied for fifth place while scoring three-day totals of 71-68-72—211. With Wednesday’s fifth-place finish, Edwards ended the season with back-to-back top-5 finishes.
Edwards was one of seven participants named to the OVC All-Tournament team, making him the first Racer to receive this honor since Patrick Newcomb in 2013.
JSU sophomore Maximo Portais, Montenegro and Mora were also named to the OVC All-Tournament Team along with Belmont’s Trenkler, Austin Peay sophomore Chase Korte and Eastern Kentucky junior Billy Basham.
Junior Austin Knight, from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, finished in a tie for 14th place on scores of 72-71-72—215.
Senior Gabe Wheeler, from Sikeston, Missouri, finished in a tie for 22nd place in his last tournament as a Racer on scores of 71-74-72—217.
Hunt is excited to get back to work with multiple players returning next season.
“I think we have a really good nucleus coming back, four of our top 5,” Hunt said. “We’ve got a couple of really good freshman coming in so I think it will be a lot of competition and we’ll be a lot better; [I think] we’ll have a great opportunity to win the OVC next year.”
Murray State finished the tournament second among the field in birdies with 51 and fifth in pars with 172.