Third-round surge guides Forster, Eagles to UNG Fall Invitational crowns
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Carson-Newman made up a seven-shot deficit heading into Tuesday by shooting a field-best 12-under final round of 276 to win the North Georgia Fall Invitational, led by co-champion Tom Forster at a career-best 201 total.
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Carson-Newman made up a seven-shot deficit heading into Tuesday by shooting a field-best 12-under final round of 276 to win the North Georgia Fall Invitational, led by co-champion Tom Forster at a career-best 201 total.
Lightning in the area forced the field's top players, Forster (Oundle, England) and Clayton State's Joseph Kim, to be deemed co-champions without a playoff. Forster is now the third Eagle to win the event, joining the ranks of Andrew Hall in 2015 and Nicklaus Kennedy in 2014.
The Eagles went 27-under through three rounds with an 837. Five of the total Orange and Blue players in the field were in the red during the final round. They were six shots off of tying the best 54-hole score in the event, set by Newberry in 2016 at 831.
"I felt good about the play of the whole team," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "Tom played well all week. Everyone contributed which any coach is thrilled to see."
Forster went three-under in the final round of action with a 69. He carded six birdies on the day with four-in-a-row from holes 13 to 16, pushing his tournament total to 17, the second-most in the field. He tied for the second-best outings on par-3 and par-4 holes at one-under and six-under, respectively, while tying for fifth on par-5s at eight-under.
The senior's 201 total is a new career-best, besting the 202 he carded at the Southern Tide Classic in March 2019 which was also the last tournament he won. He now has four tournament wins to his name in his career. His total this week marks the second-lowest 54-hole score in South Atlantic Conference history, one off of the record set by Brad Hawkins at the 2015 State Farm Intercollegiate.
Ten shots behind Forster by the end of Tuesday was Fintan McKenna, sitting in a tie for 10th at five-under. His 211 is a new career-best 54-hole score. For a fourth-straight round, the senior carded an eagle, this time on the par-5 4th hole, helping him to tie for the most eagles in the tournament at three. All of his eagles this season have come exclusively on par-5 holes. McKenna added on four birdies in the round to make up for the pair of bogeys and double-bogey he also carded.
Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) shot for his lowest round of the week with a 69, matching the lowest single round in his career, to go three-under in a tie for 18th. His 213 through the event is now his best 54-hole score. The sophomore shot for birdie six times through the final round with four through his front nine of the day.
Like Mynatt, individual Fergus Robinson (Towcester, England) moved up 10 spots on the leaderboard by the end of Tuesday, tying for 40th at three-over. The junior shot his best round of the week with a 71 in the final round to give him a 219 total. He carded a week-high four-birdies to help him improve on the leaderboard.
Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) shaved nine shots off of his second round score with a 68 on Tuesday, the best score among all C-N players in the round, to tie for 44th. He was four-over in the event with a 220 total after shooting for seven birdies on the day, the most he saw the entire week.
Ethan Rimmer (Knoxville, Tenn.) slid 27 spots down the leaderboard on Tuesday to 61st with a 10-over week. His 81 in the final round elevated his total to 226. The freshman carded eight bogeys on the day with just two birdies but found a triple-bogey on the par-4 18th hole.
C-N finished six shots better than Monday's leader Clayton State, going 21-under in the field. Southern Wesleyan took third at 11-under.
Forster and Kim held a three-shot advantage over King's Leonardo Rigamonti at 12-under.
The Eagles now get to enjoy a two-week break from tournament play before hitting the road to the Queens Invitational. That two-day event will begin on Oct. 21 at the Irish Creek Country Club in Kannapolis, N.C.
|
Carson-Newman |
287 |
274 |
276 |
837 |
-27 |
1st |
|
67 |
65 |
69 |
201 |
-15 |
T-1st |
|
|
72 |
69 |
70 |
211 |
-5 |
T-10th |
|
|
73 |
71 |
69 |
213 |
-3 |
T-18th |
|
|
73 |
75 |
71 |
219 |
+3 |
T-40th |
|
|
75 |
77 |
68 |
220 |
+4 |
T-44th |
|
|
76 |
69 |
81 |
226 |
+10 |
T-61st |
