Sutton captures individual medalist honors at Battle at Black Creek, Tech ties for seventh
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – It was a historic day for Tennessee Tech’s Nick Sutton on the links Tuesday afternoon, as the sophomore took home his first collegiate medalist honors by claiming the Battle at Black Creek individual title for the Golden Eagle men’s golf team.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – It was a historic day for Tennessee Tech's Nick Sutton on the links Tuesday afternoon, as the sophomore took home his first collegiate medalist honors by claiming the Battle at Black Creek individual title for the Golden Eagle men's golf team.
The purple and gold tied for seventh place in the field of 17, posting a 301 in the third and final round for a final score of 869 to match the output of South Dakota State. In-state rivals Chattanooga and UT Martin tied for the team championship, concluding the week with scores of 857.
As for Sutton, the Matthews, N.C. native cruised to the first individual crown for a Golden Eagle since Bryce Beeler took home the title at Big Blue Intercollegiate at the end of the 2018-19 campaign. The youngster carded a career-low 204, matching the fourth-lowest score in program history set by Tech Hall of Famer Scott Stallings back in 2005.
After delivering rounds of 1-under 71 and 6-under 66 on Monday, Sutton followed it up with a 5-under 67 on Tuesday, besting the runner-up of the 96-man field by a whopping five shots. Recording eight more birdies on the day, he led the tournament field with 20 total for the week, as well par-3 scoring (-2) and par-5 scoring (-9).
Next for the Golden Eagle lineup were youngsters Jackson Skeen and Mark McDearman tying for 31st on the leaderboard with scores of 220. Skeen produced a 78 in the third round with a pair of birdies while McDearman racked up three birdies of his own for a 76.
Tying for 57th was Chance Taylor, who tallied a pair of birdies for an 80. The junior concluded his fall with a final score of 225. Wrapping up the Tech lineup with a 245 was Alexander Bassel. The rookie finished his first collegiate tournament with an 86 in the third round.
Competing as an individual, true freshman Avery Irwin turned in an 85 to finish with a final cumulative score of 242.
| Top 5 Teams: | ||||||
| T-1. | UT Martin | 284-278-295=857 | -7 | |||
| T-1. | Chattanooga | 288-278-291=857 | -7 | |||
| 3. | App State | 290-285-289=862 | -2 | |||
| T-4. | Troy | 286-286-291=863 | -1 | |||
| T-4. | Western Carolina | 298-278-287=863 | -1 | |||
| T-7. | Tennessee Tech | 286-286-301=869 | +5 | |||
| Leaderboard (96 Golfers) | ||||||
| 1. | Nick Sutton | 71-66-67=204 | -12 | |||
| T-31. | Jackson Skeen | 71-71-78=220 | +4 | |||
| T-31. | Mark McDearman | 73-71-76=220 | +4 | |||
| T-57. | Chance Taylor | 71-74-80=225 | +9 | |||
| T-90. | Avery Irwin* | 80-77-85=242 | +26 | |||
| 93. | Alexander Bassel | 82-77-86=245 | +29 | |||
| *competed as an individual | ||||||
File photo by Thomas Corhern (top), inset photo courtesy of Chattanooga Athletics
