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No home sweet home for Golf Govs; 10th after first day of F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate

APSU Men’s Golf

Austin Peay State University GovernorsHopkinsville, KY – Despite shooting eight-under par, Austin Peay State University men’s golf team is in 10th-place after the first two rounds of the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate, played at The Links at Novadell.

Ohio Valley Conference member Jacksonville State shot a second-round 259 and leads the field at 34-under par (542), while Bowling Green is a distant second at 19-under par (557). Things tighten up after that, with Samford (560), Eastern Illinois (561) and Oakland (562) rounding out the top five.

APSU Men's Golf. (Courtesy: Austin Peay Sports Information)
APSU Men's Golf. (Courtesy: Austin Peay Sports Information)

UT Martin (563), Murray State (565), Troy (566), Towson (567) and Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Tennessee State (568) make up the rest of the top 10. SIU Edwardsville (579), Morehead State (583), Western Illinois (588) and Belmont (589) complete the 17-team field.

Playing in their home event on their home course would seem to be factor for a relatively young Govs golf team, but on the contrary it was a pair of freshmen leading the way. Marco Iten and Anthony Bradley both sit in the top-20 with 18 holes to play. Iten shot two rounds under par and sits t-14th with a  139 (71-68), while Bradley rebounded from an opening-round 74 with a 67 in round two and is t-20th with a 141.

Senior Luke Sherrod was under-par in the first round, but posted a disappointing 75 in the second. Senior Brian Balthrop, meanwhile, was the opposite, shooting 74 in the first and a two-under 70 in the second.

“We came out of the gate struggling,” head coach Kirk Kayden said. “We were a little tight and almost too pumped up for our home tournament. Obviously, you have high expectations when you play on your home course. We didn’t manage the golf course like we usually do. We’ve played well here all fall. “

Sherrod and Balthrop are t-42, while freshman Trey Tarpley is t-80th.

“The guys showed some heart in the second round and we got it back a little,” Kayden said. “Unfortunately, we had to count a mid-70s there, otherwise, we would’ve had a real nice score in the second round.

“Anthony hit a lot of greens and a lot of fairways, it was good round for a freshman. Marco backed him up, so we had good play out of our freshman. That’s encouraging for the future of our team.”

Austin Peay will have a chance to get back in the race, Tuesday, in final-round play, as the Govs will be paired with OVC teams Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech. Play begins with a 9:00am, shot gun, start.

“I know we can have a good score out here,” Kayden said. “I told the guys, we have to be more relaxed and play like we know how to out here. We can move up the ladder tomorrow.”

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