The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team finished 11th at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational. The final round 283 completed a final 36 holes that ranked tied for second in the field.
“Obviously, we struggled the first round,” Coach Blaine Woodruff said. “I was really pleased with the fight from our guys. We were the only team in the field to shoot under par in both of the last two rounds. This game can be humbling, and you’re always learning. We’ll learn from this and build off the momentum of the final two rounds heading into the Western.”
The Mocs were 4 under over the second and third 18s.
The final round tally was powered by John Houk’s 65. He tied his career high with nine birdies on the card to shoot 6 under. Garrett Engle added 71 to the team sheet with 73 from Paul Conroy and 74 by Samuel Espinosa. Ward Harris’ 75 was the drop score, while Braedon Wear registered 77 playing as an individual.
Houk’s final round shot him up into the top 20 tying for 16th. He finished at 1-under 212, one better than Engle’s level-par 213. Espinosa and Wear both posted 218 with Conroy coming in at 220 and Harris with 226.
“It was a great final round from John,” Woodruff added. “And it was a solid finish for him and Garrett. It’s great to have Garrett back in the lineup and in form.”
The Mocs head to the Western Intercollegiate next Monday through Wednesday, April 15-17, in Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz, Calif. The tournament airs on the Golf Channel.
Tiger Collegiate Invitational
April 8-9 (Mon-Tue) | Columbia, Mo. | 54 holes (36/18)
Club at Old Hawthorne | Par 71 | 7,221 yards
1) Iowa State: 277-287-277=841 (-11)
2) Missouri: 275-284-284=843 (-9)
3) Central Arkansas: 278-275-291=844 (-8)
tie) San Francisco: 287=271-286=844 (-8)
5) Saint Mary's: 281-287-282=850 (-2)
tie) Stetson: 280-282-288=850 (-2)
7) Lipscomb: 287-279-286=852 (E)
8) Kansas State: 282-294-284=860 (+8)
9) Minnesota: 282-290-289=861 (+9)
tie) Wyoming: 291-283-287=861 (+9)
11) Chattanooga: 299-281-283=863 (+11)
12) ULM: 282-286-297=865 (+13)
13) South Carolina: 290-292-286=868 (+16)
14) Rutgers: 287-289-293=869 (+17)
15) Arkansas State: 288-294-298=880 (+28)
tie) UAB: 288-296-296=880 (+28)
17) South Dakota State: 296-291-298=885 (+33)
18) Lindenwood: 299-301-299=899 (+47)
Lineup
T16) John Houk: 76-71-65=212 (-1)
T22) Garrett Engle: 73-69-71=213 (E)
T48) Sam Espinosa: 74-70-74=218 (+5)
T48) Braedon Wear (Ind): 75-66-77=218 (+5)
T59) Paul Conroy: 76-71-73=220 (+7)
T86) Ward Harris: 79-72-75=226 (+13)
Field (Top 50 ranking)
(36) Chattanooga, UAB, Arkansas St., Cent. Arkansas, Iowa St., Kansas St., Lindenwood, Lipscomb, ULM, Minnesota, (37) Missouri, Rutgers, San Francisco, South Carolina, South Dakota St., Stetson, Saint Mary’s, Wyoming