Story by Keith Jaco
Staff writer
After top-five wins in each of its first two matches of the fall season, the Murray State men’s golf team experienced a setback as they placed 14th in the Derek Dolenc Invitational on Tuesday.
Head Coach Eddie Hunt and company traveled to Madison, Illinois, this week with an injured lineup.
“We went into this tournament without two of our better players and we didn’t play very good,” Hunt said. “We had one of those tournaments where nobody stepped up and that’s very disappointing.”
The Racers shot consistent rounds throughout the tournament, but failed to make any advancement in the standings. After finishing in 14th place after day one, Murray State went on to finish the tournament in the same place with three-day scores of 300-304-297?901.
The field of 17 contained five fellow OVC teams, with four of the five finishing ahead of the Racers. Host team Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville won the tournament with scores of 283-283-276?842.
As a team, Murray State was led by senior Gabe Wheeler, from Sikeston, Missouri, who shot rounds of 71-74-74?219, earning himself a share of 27th place. Freshman Dalton Bagwell, from Paducah, Kentucky, had a solid afternoon for the Racers with scores of 75-77-73?225 and a shared spot in 51st place.
Sophomore Connor Coombs, from Central City, Kentucky, watched his play progressively improve as he shot 78-77-73?228 and finished tied for 66th place.
Rhett Caldwell, a sophomore from Morganfield, Kentucky, competed in the invitational as an individual and experienced his share of ups and downs on Monday and Tuesday. Caldwell shot scores of 77-84-71?232, finishing the week tied for 81st place.
Murray State went without their No. 1 player once again this week, as junior Austin Knight, from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was sidelined by an injury for the second week in a row.
Hunt plans to have Knight and junior Avery Edwards, from Paducah, Kentucky, back in the mix next week when his team heads to Buchanan, Tennessee, for the Skyhawk Classic.
“We gave Austin the week off to get back to where he can play to his fullest ability,” Hunt said. “These tournaments are just trying to find your lineup and getting ready for the spring so it wasn’t a deal where we needed to have our best lineup. I think we have an excellent chance to win the tournament next week, and I’ll be disappointed if we don’t come out with a win.”
With a short week ahead, Hunt plans to have his team work out on Friday in preparation for the tournament on Monday.
“We’re going to go down and play the course on Friday,” Hunt said. “We’ll have a chance to play a practice round, get familiar with the course, and I think that will benefit us quite a bit.”
The Racers will hit the road next Monday to compete in the Skyhawk Classic in Buchanan, Tennessee, at Paris Landing State Park Golf Course.
