Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
Say Hello To Mr. 60!
8/29/2022 8:40:00 AM | Men's Golf
John Buchanan set a new competitive round record at the home of Murray State Golf, Miller Memorial
When Murray State's John Buchanan teed off Sunday in an important team qualifying round for the Racers' men's team, his approach was the usual shot-by-shot and
hole-by-hole focus. Players call it 'staying in the moment'.
However, this time Buchanan's round was a historic one that Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Kentucky, hasn't seen in 15 years. A senior from Hopkinsville, Ky., he carded an 11-under-par 60 which topped the former course record of 61, set by Mark Brant during an MSU team qualifying round in 2007.
Buchanan carded a MMGC course record with an 11-under-par 60 in Sunday's qualifying round. He toured the front-9 with a 6-under-par 29 and came home with a 5-under-par 31 on the back-9. On the front nine, Buchanan birdied the second hole and then ripped off five-straight birdies before making par at the ninth par-3 hole. He had a chip-in birdie at the 11th and came home with birdies at 14, 15, 17 and 18.
"The round didn't feel super special until that last hole, but I knew what I had going," Buchanan recalled. "For the most part, I was just trying to hit the best shot I could each time. If I was on the green, I focused on the speed of the putt and trusted my line."
We might call him Mr. 60 because of 11 total birdies, but Buchanan's best work of the day was saving par off the first tee.
"I got a bad break on the first hole when my tee shot ended in a bad spot," he said. "But I was able to get up and down from about 160 yards and that seemed to knock out any nerves I had early in the round."
Buchanan also locked up a spot in the Racers' starting five for the first event of the fall, at the Gene Miranda Invitational, hosted by the Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs (Sept. 9-11).
"Qualifiers are extremely important in college golf," said MSU head coach Jacob Miller. "If you don't play well in the qualifiers, you won't be traveling much with the team to tournaments. The pressure was on for everyone, because it feels like they are in a tournament when we qualify. It was impressive watching John's performance and it'll be a round he will remember for a lifetime. I watched his teammates (who he was qualifying against) rooting for him coming down the stretch and it was a special moment for all of us to see John set a new course record."
"Any time you go low it takes mental drive," said Brant, who is a veteran of the United States Air Force and played for Coach Eddie Hunt at MSU from 2005-08. "When I shot 61 back in 2007, everyone told me to stay in the moment, but I thought about it the entire time. My congratulations to John, you can't luck it going that low, he had an amazing day. My playing days at Murray State were awesome and having Miller Memorial was and still is a huge asset to Murray State Golf."
hole-by-hole focus. Players call it 'staying in the moment'.However, this time Buchanan's round was a historic one that Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Kentucky, hasn't seen in 15 years. A senior from Hopkinsville, Ky., he carded an 11-under-par 60 which topped the former course record of 61, set by Mark Brant during an MSU team qualifying round in 2007.
Buchanan carded a MMGC course record with an 11-under-par 60 in Sunday's qualifying round. He toured the front-9 with a 6-under-par 29 and came home with a 5-under-par 31 on the back-9. On the front nine, Buchanan birdied the second hole and then ripped off five-straight birdies before making par at the ninth par-3 hole. He had a chip-in birdie at the 11th and came home with birdies at 14, 15, 17 and 18.
"The round didn't feel super special until that last hole, but I knew what I had going," Buchanan recalled. "For the most part, I was just trying to hit the best shot I could each time. If I was on the green, I focused on the speed of the putt and trusted my line."
We might call him Mr. 60 because of 11 total birdies, but Buchanan's best work of the day was saving par off the first tee.
"I got a bad break on the first hole when my tee shot ended in a bad spot," he said. "But I was able to get up and down from about 160 yards and that seemed to knock out any nerves I had early in the round."
Buchanan also locked up a spot in the Racers' starting five for the first event of the fall, at the Gene Miranda Invitational, hosted by the Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs (Sept. 9-11)."Qualifiers are extremely important in college golf," said MSU head coach Jacob Miller. "If you don't play well in the qualifiers, you won't be traveling much with the team to tournaments. The pressure was on for everyone, because it feels like they are in a tournament when we qualify. It was impressive watching John's performance and it'll be a round he will remember for a lifetime. I watched his teammates (who he was qualifying against) rooting for him coming down the stretch and it was a special moment for all of us to see John set a new course record."
"Any time you go low it takes mental drive," said Brant, who is a veteran of the United States Air Force and played for Coach Eddie Hunt at MSU from 2005-08. "When I shot 61 back in 2007, everyone told me to stay in the moment, but I thought about it the entire time. My congratulations to John, you can't luck it going that low, he had an amazing day. My playing days at Murray State were awesome and having Miller Memorial was and still is a huge asset to Murray State Golf."
For your viewing pleasure:
— Murray State University Men's Golf (@RacersMGolf) August 28, 2022
The putt that capped off the 60❗️Do you think @myhoodiesquad knew this was for the course record? #ShoesUp https://t.co/rRcjPts8mX pic.twitter.com/Qmk0dXgaTW
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