Gannaway claims Top 10 finish, Golden Eagles 11th in Bash at the Beach
Playing Tuesday’s final round short-handed, the Tennessee Tech men’s golf team managed to shave 17 strokes off its previous round and battle to the finish before winding up 11th overall among the 19 teams in the 54-hole Bash at the Beach.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Playing Tuesday's final round short-handed, the Tennessee Tech men's golf team managed to shave 17 strokes off its previous round and battle to the finish before winding up 11th overall among the 19 teams in the 54-hole Bash at the Beach.
Coach Polk Brown's team wrapped up a roller coaster ride in the tourney, hosted by Appalachian State at the par-71, 6741-yard Surf Golf & Beach Club. The Golden Eagles led the entire field after carding a first round 283, then slipped into a tie for 11th place with a second-round 307.
On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles – playing with four in the lineup due to an injury to A.J. Wilkerson then sidelined him after the opening round – finished with a solid 290 for a 54-hole total of 880.
Senior Neil Gannaway earned a Top 10 individual finish, bouncing back from a second round 74 to shoot a closing round 70. He opened the event with a career-low 68 to jump to the top of the leaderboard after 18 holes. Gannaway's 212 placed him in a tie for ninth place.
Mitch Thomas continued to exhibit tremendous consistency Tuesday, finishing off his scoring line at 72-73-72—217 to placed 23rd overall.
Bryce Kendrick and Matthew Giles also rebounded from their second-round struggles to finish strong. Kendrick closed with a 72 Tuesday for a 222 total and 49th place, while Giles managed a 76 for a 229 total. The freshman had shot scores of 72 ad 81 on Monday.
James Madison held on to its second-round lead to capture the team title with an 839 total, winning by 15 shots over runnerup Arkansas State (854). JMU was paced by individual medalist Ryan Cole's 71-67-67—205 total.
Gardner-Webb (857) finished third, followed by Western Kentucky (861), Belmont (862), Oakland (870), Appalachian State (871), West Georgia (874), Radford (876) and George Washington (877) in the Top 10 spots.
Tech (880) led the second tier of finishers in 11th place, followed by Longwood (885), Valparaiso (888), St. Bonaventure (891), George Mason (893), High Point (918), Fairleigh-Dickinson (921), North Carolina Central (927) and Holy Cross (930).
In the individual portion of the tournament, Golden Eagle Benjamin Huskey closed with a 76-7675—227 to tie for 69th place.
The Golden Eagles will be back on the road at the close of this week to compete in the Grover Page Classic, hosted by UT Martin, on Monday and Tuesday.
