Union men’s golf finished 11th in their last tournament of the season at the Gulf South Conference Championship in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The Bulldogs shot a total score of 968 for the three rounds played. Union’s top finisher was freshman biology major Braxton Rider who tied for 42nd place. He shot 75, 80, and 84 for a total of 239 on the day.
The men placed their best of the season in the RedHawk Classic coming in third against six times. Rider was again the top scorer for Union.
Senior accounting major Trey Whitnell finished his last golf tournament early last week.
“It has been a great 4 years here,” Whitnell said. “Especially this past season. At the beginning of the fall semester I was somewhat worried that our young team would take a lot of time to be prepared for tournaments. I was wrong. The freshmen came prepared to play and ended up helping the team tremendously.”
The four freshman for Union were top scorers in most of the tournaments this spring season. Though they didn’t finish like they would have hoped, Whitnell said he is sure they’ll improve a lot next year.
“Next year the team should be better prepared and will be left in good hands with our new coach,” Whitnell said. “Jon Sain will be the lone senior and will be a great leader for the men’s team. Also, three guys will be returning for next year’s team. These guys have played in multiple tournaments this semester and played in the conference tournament. So they should be well prepared to have a higher finish next year.”
Union women’s team also finished up their year at Muscle Shoals finishing 6 out of 8 teams in the conference tournament. Union’s Lindsay McRee, a senior business administration major, had an awesome tournament to finish her fourth year of play at Union.
She finished 17th in the tournament and shot 73 in her final round, behind only four players. Her 73 in the final round also set a new school record as she beat her own 74 from earlier this season.On top of all of her accomplishments this year, McRee is also the first women’s golfer to play all four years at Union University.
“It means a lot to be able to look back at the last 4 years and leave in a happy place knowing how much progress the program has made,” McRee said. “When I first entered the program I was really eager to make a name for the women’s team. I can see the change and love getting asked by students and faculty how the golf team is doing. Being the first player to play all four years is something that I will always cherish and remember as a part of my time at Union.”
McRee started her spring season with a 3rd place finish when she broke the school record and her own.She began finishing in top spots in tournament play.
“I was proving a lot to myself about the player I am and who I didn’t think I could ever really be.” McRee said. “Spring season I played the best golf of my life. The funny thing is, I didn’t change anything with my swing or game. I changed my mentality overall and how I entered every tournament knowing I was one step closer to my last. That motivated me more than anything to give it my all every tournament and be the best player I could be.”