Racers 4th at OVC Championship - Coombs, Edwards & Wheeler Share 12th

The Murray State Racers posted a 3-under-par 285 to grab a spot in fourth place after the first round at the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

As one of six teams under par in the opening round of play, the Racers' 285 was their best round at the Fighting Joe course since 2015 when they carded a 284. Everyone is chasing Belmont and Jacksonville State who posted scores of 275 and 277, while Austin Peay was third place at 283, just one shot ahead of Murray State. The rest of the top-8 teams included Eastern Kentucky (286), SIUE (287), Tennessee Tech (292) and Morehead State (295).

The Racers were led by Connor Coombs, Avery Edwards and Gabe Wheeler who each shot a 1-under-par 71 in the opening to share a spot in 12th place. MSU's Austin Knight and Dalton Bagwell each shot a, even par 72 shared 19th place.

After playing in the first wave of tee times in round one, the Racers improved their standing to start Monday's second round in the second block of tee times. The Racers will be paired with EKU and SIUE with their first tee time at 9:40 a.m.

Round One Notes
The Racers made 18 birdies on the day, third in the field behind JSU who had 23 and Belmont who had 19.

The Racers led the field in the opening round by playing the Fighting Joe's par-5 holes to a stroke average of 4.65 (7-under-par).

MSU's lone senior, Gabe Wheeler, had a run three-straight birdies on the back nine as he birdied 12-14.

The day brought a certain sense of satisfaction for MSU's Avery Edwards when he let his tee shot fly at 8:20 a.m. Today marked Edwards' first appearance in the OVC Championship in two years. Injury kept Edwards out most of the 2017-18 season. In his last appearance at The Shoals, Edwards placed 11^th in the spring of 2017.

The medalist race is a close through the first 18 holes. EKU's Billy Basham carded a 6-under-par 66 and led Jacksonville State's Quim Vidal Mora, Evan Davis of Belmont and JSU's Jesus Montenegro who all posted a score of 67.

70^th OVC Men's Golf Championship
The Shoals GC – Fighting Joe Course
Muscle Shoals, Ala.
April 21, 2019
Round 1
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4 Murray State 285
T12 Gabe Wheeler (2) 71
T12 Avery Edwards (3) 71
T12 Connor Coombs (4) 71
T19 Austin Knight (1) 72
T19 Dalton Bagwell (5) 72

Team Scores
Belmont, 275, -13
Jacksonville State, 277, -11
Austin Peay, 283, -5
Murray State, 285, -3
Eastern Kentucky, 286, -2
SIU Edwardsville, 287, -1
Tennessee Tech, 292, +4
Morehead State, 295, +7
Tennessee State, 301, +13
UT Martin, 303 +15
Eastern Illinois, 304, +16

ABOUT THE SHOALS
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at The Shoals is home to two 18-hole championship courses and lies between the Wheeler and Wilson dams on the Tennessee River. Wheeler Dam is named in honor of General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler - the only Confederate General to attain the same rank later in the United States Army.

The OVC Men's Championship has been held at The Shoals six times previously (2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018). The 2019 event will be the sixth straight year at the Fighting Joe.

For the OVC Men's Championship, the Fighting Joe course will be par 72 with a yardage of 7,258.

Murray State University Athletics

Racers 4th at OVC Championship - Coombs, Edwards & Wheeler Share 12th

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