Blue Raiders deliver Moore happy birthday

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Middle Tennessee shot a school-record 16-under 848 to finish second at the UALR/First Tee Collegiate Tuesday. The record-setting performance came on veteran men's golf coach Johnny Moore's 69th birthday.

The Blue Raiders, who entered the tournament ranked 11th in the Southeast Region, fired a 281 in the final round, which goes down as the best third-round score in school history and ties for the second-best overall round in program history, to vault into second place. Lamar, the No. 11-ranked team in the country, won the three-round event at the Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark.

"I'm proud of our guys and the way they played this entire tournament," Moore said. "It was a team performance in every sense of the word because all five players played at a high level, and they had to, because this was a tough field and the course wasn't easy. We just need to continue playing with the confidence we are right now and continue to smart out there. It really was a very, very good showing."

All five Blue Raiders finished in the top 20 as Middle Tennessee secured its eighth top five finish in 10 tournaments this year, including five straight this spring. Rick Cochran led Middle Tennessee with a 7-under 209 and tied for third overall, while former Davidson Academy standout Craig Smith tied for fifth with a 5-under 211. Cochran's 209 tied for the sixth-best three-round tournament total in school history, while Smith's 211 is tied for 13th.

While Cochran and Smith led the Blue Raider charge, Chas Narramore and Kent Bulle were not too far behind as they tied for 13th overall with a 1-under 215. Former Murfreesboro Oakland standout Spencer Provow tied for 19th with a 1-over 217.

The Blue Raiders entered the final round in fourth but stormed into second with its best round by tying its best round of the year and turning in the best three-round total ever.

UALR/First Tee Collegiate
Little Rock, Ark. - Chenal CC
Final Round Results
1 Lamar 277 272 283 832
2 Middle Tennessee 284 283 281 848
3 Sam Houston 277 284 296 857
4 Austin Peay 290 286 286 862
5 Texas-San Antonio 279 285 300
6 Louisiana Tech 282 288 299 869
7 Eastern Michigan 289 285 300 874
8 Oral Roberts 286 292 297 875
9 UALR 290 285 303 878
10 Louisiana-Monroe 296 293 303 892
11 Missouri State 293 300 301 894
12 Miami (Ohio) 295 294 308 897
Western Kentucky 291 302 304 897
14 Arkansas State 304 297 297 898
15 Stephen F. Austin 299 294 308 901
16 Ball State 301 298 304 903
17 Central Arkansas 293 308 304 905

MT Individual Scores
2 Middle Tennessee 848
T3 Rick Cochran 72 67 70 209
T5 Craig Smith 70 69 72 211
T13 Chas Narramore 72 73 70 215
T13 Kent Bulle 72 74 69 215
T19 Spencer Provow 70 74 73 217

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