Murray State University Athletics
Racers Prep For OVC Men's Golf Championship
4/26/2010 5:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
The Murray State Men's golf team begins play in the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Monday at GreyStone Golf Club in Dickson, Tenn.
The OVC Championship will be a 54-hole event with one round each played Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the 6,858-yard, par-72 course. The first tee time Thursday is at 8:00 a.m.
Murray State is looking for their fourth league title and first since 1991; MSU also won the OVC trophy in 1971 and 1987. The Racers have finished second in each of the last two seasons and lost by one shot in 2009 to Austin Peay.
Murray State head coach Eddie Hunt was named OVC Coach of the Year after his team put up a great fight in 2009.
"We feel like the last two seasons we've been right there at the end, but one or two shots have kept us from reaching the top," he said. "This team has the experience with four players back and we've been playing well."
The men's golf championship will feature nine teams - Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Murray State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin
Patrick Newcomb is the first Racer off Monday with a 9:40 a.m. tee time, followed by Chris Griffin at 9:50 a.m. Jared Wolfe starts at 10 a.m., with Cameron Carrico going at 10:10 a.m. and Nick Newcomb plays in the final group at 10:20 a.m.
A Look At Murray State
The Racers enter the OVC Championship on a hot streak with back to back victories. MSU won the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate April 6 and then took the UK Bluegrass Invitational April 11. The Racers also won their own MSU Invitational last Sept.
MSU's combination of three seniors, Chris Griffin, Nick Newcomb and Jared Wolfe and junior Cameron Carrico have proved to be among the best in the OVC. Freshman Patrick Newcomb, brother of Nick, has turned in a solid first season as the fifth starter.
Nick Newcomb leads the league in scoring (72.4), Carrico is third (72.8), Wolfe is seventh (73.8) and Griffin is eighth (74.1). Patrick Newcomb is the third-best freshman in the OVC with an average of 75.3 per round.
The GreyStone Challenge
This will be the first time the OVC has contested the championship at this course.
The Racers hosted an event here in 2008, the MSU Spring Invitational, which they finished third behind Tennessee Tech and Lipscomb.
GreyStone, which opened in 1998 was designed by PGA Tour pro Mark McCumber and is a short drive from Nashville, Tenn., on Interstate-40 west.
GreyStone Golf Club is a public course that has hosted many high profile events including: 2002 PGA Tour First-round qualifying, Men and Women's Tennessee State Open from 1999-2003, 2000 PGA Tour first-round qualifying, Monday qualifying for BellSouth Senior PGA Tour, and 2004 first stage of PGA Tour School Qualifying.
Sizing Up The Field
While the Racers lead the league in scoring at 291.4, Eastern Kentucky is just behind them at 294.3 and Jacksonville State has an averaged of 297.7.
The Racers lead the league with three wins this season, while Tennessee State won twice in the 2009-10 season.
OVC Awards
The annual awards banquets will be held following the first round of play Monday. The banquet honors the All-OVC first-team and second-team members as well as All-Newcomer Team and Freshman of the Year. The OVC Player of the Year, Coach of the Year as well as All-Tournament and Tournament MVP awards will be presented at the conclusion of the championship
