PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Forced to play from behind after a mediocre showing in the opening round, the Middle Tennessee men's golf team was never able to find its rhythm and finished 10th at the Sun Belt Conference Championships at The PGA Village. The Blue Raiders, which entered Wednesday's final round in ninth with a two-day-total 601, finished 31 strokes behind first-place Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers outlasted North Texas in a two-hole playoff to capture the title.
"We tried to play catch-up the entire tournament and we just compounded our problems by trying to make shots we couldn't make and trying to do things we are not capable of doing," Middle Tennessee men's coach Johnny Moore said. "We just got behind from the beginning and we stayed behind. It's very disappointing."
Nick Bailes, who was disqualified for failing to sign his scorecard Tuesday, had a bright spot in Wednesday's round when he sank a hole-in-one on the fifth hole. Bailes, who finished with a team-best 74 Wednesday, nailed the shot using a 6 iron from 178 yards.
Bailes turned in a 74 in the first and third rounds but his score didn't count because of Tuesday's disqualification.
The play of Middle Tennessee's freshman was a bright spot as Chas Narramore and Rick Cochran led the way. Narramore finished with a 225 and tied for 25th overall, while Cochran was tied for 27th with a 226.
Josh Nelms was third among Middle Tennessee linksters with a 232, which was good for 39th overall, while Spencer Provow tied for 47th with a 238.
Team scores
1 Western Kentucky 875
T2 North Texas 875
T2 South Alabama 875
4 New Orleans 877
5 Troy 879
6 Arkansas State 883
7 Denver 888
8 Arkansas-Little Rock 892
9 Louisiana-Lafayette 898
10 Middle Tennessee 906
MT Scores
T25 Chas Narramore 69 76 80 225
T27 Rick Cochran 77 72 77 226
T39 Josh Nelms 76 77 79 232
T47 Spencer Provow 83 80 75
DQ Nick Bailes 74 DQ 74
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