APSU Men’s Golf
Clarksville, TN – Coming off its season’s best finish, Austin Peay State University men’s golf team returns to action at Arkansas State’s ASU Red Wolf Classic, played at RidgePointe Country Club, beginning with an 8:00am, Monday, shotgun start.
After battling through some early struggles, the Govs pulled off a fourth-place finish at the Grub Mart Intercollegiate, their last time out. That finish, however, was a product of a third-round collapse in which Austin Peay shot the tournament’s worst round – coming after firing the tournament’s best round, 18 holes earlier.
With those inconsistencies behind them, the Govs are looking to show better course management at another tough facility and against a strong field. RidgePointe Country Club, a par-72, 6,565-yard course was the home of the 2008 Arkansas Amateur.“This should be a great event on a good golf course,” head coach Kirk Kayden said. “It’s a course that you need to make the correct decisions off the tee and we’ve done a good job of that this year. I hope we can build on our first two rounds at (the Grub Mart Intercollegiate).”
The tournament field includes Ohio Valley Conference teams Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State, Murray State, SIU Edwardsville and UT Martin; along with host Arkansas State, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Louisana-Monroe, Arkansas-Little Rock and Northern Iowa.
Kayden’s team will be led by two freshmen – Marco Iten and Anthony Bradley. Iten owns a 73.2 stroke average and is coming off a seventh-place finish at the Grub Mart Intercollegiate. Bradley, meanwhile, leads the Govs with four rounds in the 60s and a 72.9 stroke average.
Sophomore Dustin Korte and senior Luke Sherrod add some tournament experience to Kayden’s squad. Korte had a tremendous first day at the Grub Mart Intercollegiate, setting the 36-hole record with 71-65=136. Sherrod ranks second on the team with 19 rounds counted through seven tournaments. Junior Logan Loftus will be the fifth player for the Govs.
“We have some guys playing with confidence going into this week and that can make a difference,” Kayden said. “We should get a great preview with all the OVC teams in the field. It’s going to be good to see how some of these teams are playing in April.”