-Senior Brooks Thomas led a strong final round effort by the Chattanooga Mocs at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate. His 3-under 69 led the squad to a -2 round (286) which was the second-best total of the final 18 on Turning Stone Resort’s Kaluhyat Course.
The 286 moved the Mocs into a fourth-place finish. Host Missouri (852) captured the win by seven over first-day leader Texas A&M (859). Toledo (875) wound up third.
“Really happy with the last round and the way we finished,” coach Mark Guhne shared.
“Andy (Weathers) had a birdie, Lake (Johnson) and Phillip (Hickam) had two each.”
Junior Andrew Weathers tied for sixth at 1 under. His 71 today was second only to Thomas among the Mocs starters. Lake Johnson and Phillip Hickam rounded out the team’s 286 with a pair of 73s (+1).
Wes Gosselin finished tied for 28th at 225. That was one ahead of Johnson who tied for 30th at 226. Thomas was three more back at 229 with Hickam coming in at 230. Etienne Brault played as an individual shooting 227.
“All six guys proved to me they can compete at this level and contribute to the team,” Guhne added. “The way we finished off today, that's encouraging.
“But we can't show it for just 18 holes. This team showed it can be pretty special.”
Thomas began his round with back-to-back bogeys before playing -5 over the final 16 holes. When it got down to crunch time, his teammates followed suit. The counting cards tallied two eagles and 39 birdies for the week, but also had 14 others (scores higher than bogey).
“We have to clean up the scores higher than bogey,” Guhne concluded. “I think we ended up with 14 on our counting cards? That's way too many.
“At the same time, we had a lot of birdies on a hard golf course. Makes me look forward to being home this weekend on the Farm in Dalton.”
The Mocs return to the tee Friday at the Farm in nearby Rocky Face, Ga., just outside Dalton. Admission is free with the field playing the prestigious Carpet Capital Collegiate with 18 holes per day, Friday through Sunday. Check GoMocs.com for tee times and schedule.