Lee Golfers Win TVA Credit Union Invitational

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Playing against several high-ranking teams in NCAA Division II men's golf, the Lee dominated the field by posting a 54-hole total of 857 (7-under par) and winning the TVA Credit Union Invitational by a remarkable 15 strokes. After zipping to rounds of 283-284 on Monday, the Flames continued the torrid pace with another 284 on Tuesday.

The victory was the third tournament title in a row by the blistering-hot Flames.

It also matches the most tournaments a Lee golf team has won in a semester. Lee can break the record by winning the NCCAA National next week in Panama City, Fla. The Flames will enter the event as the defending champions.

Junior Taylor Davis picked up right where he left off on Monday (rounds of 67-71) by firing a 4-under 68 on Tuesday at the 7133-yard Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club course in claiming medalist honors. It is his second career win. The talented golfer from Franklin, Tenn. carded a -10 206 total, nine strokes better than the (76-71-68 -215) recorded by second-place finishers Griffin Brown from Limestone (S.C.) and West Georgia's Kevin Clarke (72-68-75 - 215) in the medalist competition. Three other golfers tied for fourth place in a field of 85 players and 17 teams.

"I'm just really happy for Taylor in getting the medalist win this week," stated head coach John Maupin. "He is playing at a very high level and this was a dominating performance. He's a young man with a lot of talent, but he has worked very hard the past couple of seasons to get to this point. It's nice to see it all paying off for him."

Davis' teammates were consistent both days with different Flames picking up the pace at different times. Freshmen Corey Sheppard and Ryne Thompson placed in a log-jam of eight golfers tied for 13th. Sheppard totaled 79-69-72 and Thompson came in with rounds of 75-74-71, both finishing at +4 220. Matt Strube was tied for 21st after his 75-69-78 - 222.

Junior Peyton Sliger closed out a remarkable day when he scored a hole-in-one on the (196 yard) 16th hole. For the tournament, Sliger placed 29th with rounds of 73-79-73 - 225.

In team play, host and 17th-ranked North Alabama was second 299-288-285 - 872. Ninth-ranked Columbus State (Ga.) was third (292-288-294 - 874.) Third-ranked West Georgia settled for fourth place after rounds of (295-287-297 - 879) and No. 24 Limestone rounded out the top five finishers with a (301-288-291 - 880).

"I couldn't be more proud of our guys this week," said Maupin. "They played some great golf and did a good job of just committing to the process. It means a lot for us to perform well in these big D2 tournaments. The guys have worked hard to be prepared. We showed good depth, and got good rounds from everyone this week. We look forward to continuing this momentum as we head into our final event of the fall."