DADE CITY, Fla. - Middle Tennessee completed a runaway victory, closing with a 3-over 291 to finish 14 strokes ahead of Marquette (872) and Florida Southern (872) in the 16th Ron Smith/USF Invitational at the Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club.
It was Middle Tennessee's second tournament title in five days as the Blue Raiders captured The All-American Golf Classic in Houston Tuesday. It marks the first time the Middle Tennessee men's golf team has won consecutive tournaments since 1997-98. First-year Blue Raider Head Coach Whit Turnbow was a member of that conference championship squad.
"That is a good accomplishment for our player, our program and our school," Turnbow said of the back-to-back wins. "The guys really played well this week. It was a long week with two tournaments in seven days but they were really focused and every single player in the lineup played well. That's what is so encouraging. Everyone played a part in us picking up two big tournament wins on this trip."
Middle Tennessee entered the final round with a 10-shot lead and steadily built on it throughout the afternoon as the Blue Raider lineup tamed the course.
In an event where only 11 players were under par, three of them were Blue Raiders. Sophomore Kent Bulle continued a steady weekend with a even 72 Sunday. He closed with a 4-under 212 and tied for second individually.
Bulle and Narramore were shot even or better in each of their six rounds and Craig Smith was par or better in two of his three. Narramore tied for seventh overall with a 2-under 214 after finishing at even. Smith tied for ninth with a 1-under 215.
Jason Millard tied for 17th with a 2-over 218 for the weekend and Rick Cochran rallied and played even golf for two rounds after opening with a 5-over 77. He finished tied for 28th with a 221.
Ron Smith/USF Invitational
Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club
Par 72 - 7084 yards
Final team scores
1 Middle Tennessee 287-280-291 858 -6
T2 Florida Southern 296-292-284 872 +8
T2 Marquette 297-288-287 872 +8
4 Southeastern Louisiana 293-284-298 875 +11
5 DePaul 296-292-289 877 +13
6 Eastern Michigan 301-292-289 882 +18
7 South Florida 294-293-296 883 +19
8 VCU 291-296-297 884 +20
9 Columbus State 301-284-303 888 +15
T10 Missouri 301-297-291 889 +25
T10 Jacksonville State 299-284-306 889 +25
T10 Troy 303-285-301 889 +25
13 Texas-San Antonio 298-291-301 890 +26
14 Austin Peay 303-289-301 893 +29
15 Arkansas State 300-297-303 900 +36
16 Xavier 302-299-300 901 +37
17 Rhode Island 304-293-309 906 +42
18 Nebraska 305-302-307 914 +50
1 MT Scores (858)
T2 Kent Bulle 70-70-72 212 -4
T7 Chas Narramore 71-71-72 214 -2
T9 Craig Smith 72-69-74 215 -1
T17 Jason Millard 74-70-74 218 +2
T28 Rick Cochran 77-71-73 221 +5
Print this article
Share on Facebook
