MSU Places 3rd At OVC Championship - Edwards Earns All-Tourney Spot

Sunday, April 21

Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Murray State

Ohio Valley Conference

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

MSU Places 3rd At OVC Championship - Edwards Earns All-Tourney Spot

4/23/2019 5:18:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results (PDF)Photo Gallery OVC Release

The Murray State Racers came home with third place at the 70^th playing of the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The Racers posted scores of 285-288-287=860 to secure third place and post the best score in the 18 seasons for Racer head coach Eddie Hunt. MSU's first round 285 was their best round in the event since a 284 in 2012.

Murray State finished behind second place Belmont (847) and champion Jacksonville State (836). Austin Peay (864) was fourth, while Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and SIUE shared fifth place at 868.

MSU's Avery Edwards became the Racers' first OVC All-Tournament finisher since Patrick Newcomb in 2013 when he placed in a share of fifth on scores of 71-68-72 for a total of 5-under-par 211. 41748

Edwards was fifth in the field with 12 birdies in 54 holes.

Austin Knight placed 14^th on scores of 72-71-72=215, while Gabe Wheeler played his final event with the Racers as the senior from Sikeston, Missouri birdied his final hole when he knocked it close at the par-3 18^th hole with a four iron and made the putt for a score of two. Wheeler finished with scores of 71-74-72=217. Freshman Dalton Bagwell placed 24^th on scores of 72-75-71=218, while Connor Coombs placed 34^th on rounds of 71-78-74=223.

Tournament Notes
Avery Edwards earned a spot in the top-5 and the OVC All-Tournament Team. He's MSU's first since 2013 when Patrick Newcomb won the individual title.

2019 OVC All-Tournament Team
Jesus Montenegro, Jacksonville State 67 68 69 204 -12
Quim Vidal Mora, Jacksonville State 67 73 67 207 -9
Noah Trenkler, Belmont 68 74 66 208 -8
Billy Basham, Eastern Kentucky 66 73 71 210 -6
Avery Edwards, Murray State 71 68 72 211 -5
Maximo Portais, Jacksonville State 72 70 69 211 -5
Chase Korte, Austin Peay State 69 73 69 211 -5

MURRAY STATE - OVC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
(Started in 1999)
2001 Brandon Henson
2002 Matt Stark
2003 Will Cox
2004 Kyle Shirley
2005 Jamie Frazier
2008 Nick Newcomb
Cameron Carrico
2009 Jared Wolfe
2010 Nick Newcomb, Jared Wolfe, Chris Griffin
2011 Cameron Carrico
2012 Patrick Newcomb
2013 Patrick Newcomb
2019 Avery Edwards

The Racers ranked second in the field with 51 birdies (JSU was the leader with 60) and MSU was fifth with 172 pars (EKU was first with 184).

The field of 55 players had a harder day in the final round with an average score of 74.15. The average in round two was 74.38 and 73.80 in round one. The average score for the three rounds was 74.11 The Fighting Joe course played to a par of 72 and a length of 7,258 yards. The OVC returns here in 2020 when the first four teams will advance to an extra day of match play to decide the OVC title.

70^th OVC Men's Golf Championship
The Shoals GC – Fighting Joe Course
Muscle Shoals, Ala.
April 23, 2019
FINAL SCORES
---
Murray State 285 288 287 860
T5 Avery Edwards (3) 71 68 72 211
T14 Austin Knight (1) 72 71 72 215
T22 Gabe Wheeler (2) 71 74 72 217
T24 Dalton Bagwell (5) 72 75 71 218
T34 Connor Coombs (4) 71 78 74 223

Team Scores
Jacksonville State 277 282 277 836 -28
Belmont 275 289 283 847 -17
Murray State 285 288 287 860 -4
Austin Peay State 283 286 295 864 E
T5 Eastern Kentucky 286 291 291 868 +4
T5 Tennessee Tech 292 291 285 868 +4
T5 SIU Edwardsville 287 289 292 868 +4
Morehead State 295 285 291 871 +7
UT Martin 303 294 291 888 +24
Tennessee State 301 312 300 913 +49
Eastern Illinois 304 303 318 925 +61

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.