Racers 4th at OVC Championship - Edwards Surges - Murray State University Athletics

The Murray State Racers stayed put in fourth place at the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The Racers' even par 288 put them in fourth place (285-288=573) three shots ahead of fifth place SIUE (287-289=576) and four shots behind third place Austin Peay (283-286=569). Jacksonville State remained the leader (277-282=559) as they led second place Belmont (275-289=564) by five shots.

The Racers tee off in their final round Tuesday at 9:40 a.m. at the Fighting Joe course at The Shoals. Just like today, they'll be paired with EKU and SIUE.

MSU's Avery Edwards surged from 12^th place to fourth after posting a 4-under–par 68. He played a bogey-free round with 14 pars and four birdies. His scores of 71-68=139 made for a spot in fourth place, just four shots behind leader Jesus Montenegro of Jacksonville State (67-68=135). If Edwards could find a path to the medalist title, he'd be the first Murray State player to do it since Patrick Newcomb in 2013.

Other Murray State scores and places included Austin Knight in 16^th place on scores of 72-71=143 and Gabe Wheeler in 20^th place on rounds of 71-74=145. Dalton Bagwell had scores of 72-75=147 for a spot in 27^th place, while Connor Coombs was in 34^th place on scores of 71-78=149.

Eastern Kentucky (577), Morehead State (580) and Tennessee Tech (583) rounded out the top-8 in the field.

Round Two Notes
The Racers are third in the field with 34 birdies, behind only Belmont (35), Jacksonville State (42).

MSU is second in par-3 scoring (3.08), fourth in par-5 scoring (4.88) and fifth in par-4 scoring (4.04).

MSU's Avery Edwards leads the Racers through 36 holes with eight birdies. Bagwell and Wheeler have seven each.

MSU's Austin Knight is fourth in the field in par-3 scoring (2.75). His tee shot at the par-3 5^th hole today nearly went in the hole. Knight made a hole-in-one on this same hole two years ago. There were only three birdies here today.

The field of 55 players had an average score of 74.38 in round two after a 73.80 in round one. The average score through two rounds is 74.09. For the OVC Men's Championship, the Fighting Joe course is playing to a par of 72 and a length of 7,258 yards.

The par-3 13^th hole played 184 yards and gave the field fits with an average score of 3.33. In round two, there were 16 scores of bogey or worse and the hole only yielded eight birdies. The par-4 10^th hole was the hardest hole on the course today at 4.38 per player and it had 20 scores of bogey or worse and only three birdies.

70^th OVC Men's Golf Championship
The Shoals GC – Fighting Joe Course
Muscle Shoals, Ala.
April 22, 2019
Round 2
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4 Murray State 285 288 573
T3 Avery Edwards (3) 71 68 139
16 Austin Knight (1) 72 71 143
T20 Gabe Wheeler (2) 71 74 145
T27 Dalton Bagwell (5) 72 75 147
T34 Connor Coombs (4) 71 78 149

Team Scores
Jacksonville State 277 282 559
Belmont 275 289 564
Austin Peay 283 286 569
Murray State 285 288 573
SIUE 287 289 576
Eastern Kentucky 286 291 577
Morehead State 295 285 580
Tennessee Tech 292 291 583
UT Martin 303 294 597
Eastern Illinois 304 303 607
Tennessee State 301 312 613

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.

Murray State University Athletics

Racers 4th at OVC Championship - Edwards Surges

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Players Mentioned

Dalton Bagwell

Connor Coombs

Avery Edwards

Austin Knight

Patrick Newcomb

Gabe Wheeler

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