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EATONTON, Ga.---The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team made a run at the Southern Conference Men's Golf Championships before settling for second behind ETSU. The Mocs shot a program-best in the event with a 25-under total of 839. That included a final round 5-under 283.
That was led by
John Houk and
Braedon Wear with 3-under 69s.
Samuel Espinosa played level with 72 as
Garrett Engle closed the counting cards at 73.
Paul Conroy had the drop score of 74.
Conroy was low man for the week at 8 under (208). He finished fourth, two ahead of Wear's 210 in a tie for fifth. Houk was 10th at 212 just ahead of Engle in 11th at 213. Espinosa's even-par 216 gave the Mocs a complete unit at par or better for the first time at the championships.
The Mocs took an early lead today. As a group, the squad was 14 under through the first 12 holes before hitting a trouble spot. The last six holes were played at 9 over, while ETSU surged. The Bucs played the final six at 4 under, a 13-stroke swing, but it started on 10 playing the backside at 9 under.
"The guys were awesome getting off to a good start," Coach Blaine Woodruff shared. "I think we were up 11 at the turn. We didn't play well over those last seven holes, and that was where they made their move. Kudos to them playing those holes well.
"I think we need to get better embracing that situation and opportunity. It's different in the postseason. It stings bad right now, but it will be good for our guys in the long run. This had the feel of a battle for the fifth and final spot at regionals."
ETSU's Mats Ege claimed medalist honors at 14 under. Conroy (T4), Wear (T5) and Houk (10) all finished in the top 10. The Bucs winning total was 834. The Mocs came in next at 839 followed by Furman at 843. Western Carolina (862) was fourth with UNC Greensboro (864) fifth. Mercer (866) was next followed by Wofford (875) and Samford (884).
The Mocs now await word of NCAA Regionals site. There's a good chance four teams – Chattanooga, ETSU, Furman & UNCG – earn bids. The announcement is Wednesday, May 3, at 1 p.m.
Southern Conference Championships
Dates: April 23-25 (Sun-Tue) | Eatonton, Ga. | 54 holes (18 per day)
Lineup
2nd of 8: 277-279-283=839 (-25)
4)
Paul Conroy: 67-67-74=208 (-8)
T5)
Braedon Wear: 70-71-69=210 (-6)
10)
John Houk: 70-73-69=212 (-4)
T11)
Garrett Engle: 70-70-73=213 (-3)
T14)
Samuel Espinosa: 73-71-72=216 (E)
Noteworthy
- All five Mocs finished in the top 15. That's just the second time that's occurred matching the 2008 quintet of Ben Rickett (T2), Fredrik Qvicker (T7), Derek Rende (T7), J.T. Clendenin (T7) & Jonathan Hodge (T14).
- The Mocs were 25 under on the front nine for the week, even on the back. ETSU was 8 under on the opening nine and 22 under on the back nine.
- 11 of the Mocs 12 counting this week were par or better with 10 under par.
Course
Oconee Course | Par 72 | 7,393 yards
Field
(47) Chattanooga, (33) ETSU, (59) Furman, Mercer, (48) UNC Greensboro, Samford, Western Carolina & Wofford
History
Team Finishes (44 appearances)
1st (6): 1987, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013
2nd (5): 1978, 1989, 1993, 2014, 2018
3rd (5): 1984, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2019
4th (10): 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1998, 2005, 2016, 2017
5th (9): 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2022
6th (2): 1997, 1999
7th (5): 1985, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2021
8th (0): N/A
9th (2): 2002. 2003
Medalists (2)
1978: Donnie Green, 221 (+5)
2012: Stephan Jaeger, 207 (-9)
Runner-Up (9)
1987: Chris Schmidt/Lee Gerdes, 222 (+6)
1989: Brian Millican, 216 (E)
1997: James van de Griff, 221 (+5)
2008: Ben Rickett, 215 (-1)
2009: Fredrik Qvicker, 211 (-5)
2012: Chris Robb, 218 (+2)
2013: Steven Fox, 217 (+1)
2014: Chris Robb, 208 (-8)
Live Scoring
Golfstat
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