The Men’s golf team kicked off their week in Buchanan Tenn. at a three-round, two-day tournament on Oct. 3 and 4.
The event took place at the Paris Landing Golf Club, featuring 66 golfers and 11 teams of which Union University posted a ninth place finish.
“The tournament went well as a whole,” Jon Sain, junior business management major, said. “We didn’t have the finish we were hoping for on Tuesday, but it was a great experience for the team. We are new to D2 and playing in a D1 tournament like this one gives us a lot of insight on what we need to be working on to get to the next level.”
Union finished ninth with a 54-hole score of 911 (+47). Union was eighth after a first round 298 and then moved up one spot to seventh with a second round score of 300 Monday evening. However, Union fell to their finishing spot with Tuesday’s final round of 313.
“We played better Monday than in our previous tournament at Covington,” Clay Mallard, head coach, said. “It was great to see a sub 300 round and for us to put two rounds together on Monday. I felt good going into Tuesday’s round but we just didn’t play very well.”
UT Martin won the event with a score of 860 (-4) and was the only team to finish under par for the tournament. John A Logan CC finished second, Incarnate Word third, Murray State fourth, Alabama State fifth, Austin Peay sixth, Alcorn State seventh, Tennessee State eighth, Bethel tenth and Rend Lake CC 11th.
“One of our goals for the fall was to break 300 and we did that on Monday,” Sain said.
Union’s top finisher was Braxton Rider in a tie for 33rd with a 227 (73, 77, 77). Jordan Botwinick who was tied for 11th after two rounds, and finished tied for 42nd with a 230 (71, 74, 85). Jon Sain finished T42 with a 230 (76, 74, 80), Kyle Souleyrette finished T45 with a 231 (78, 75, 78) and Cal Templeton finished T57 with a 237 (80, 79, 78). River Scoggins played for Union as an individual and finished 60th with a 242 (83, 74, 85).
“There are a lot of positives to take away from Monday especially,” Mallard said. “Tuesday, however, exposed some weaknesses and showed us we still have a lot of work ahead of us. But I am excited about what the future holds for us.”
Up next for Union will be their home invitational, the Union University Fall Invitational. The 36-hole one-day event will be played Monday, October 17 at the Jackson Country Club.