Springfield, LA – Austin Peay State University men’s golf didn’t quite receive the finish it was hoping, Tuesday. As a result, the Governors were forced to settle for a second-place tie at the Carter Plantation Intercollegiate.
“It was just one of those days,” APSU coach Kirk Kayden said. “It just can’t count two 78s against a field like this and be successful. I am a little bit disappointed.
“We hit way too many deep fairway bunkers this week. If you got into those, there was a good chance of a double or triple bogey. That is what happened today and when you do that how you end up with 78s.
“We also struggled some with the Bermuda greens. We just didn’t make enough 8-12-foot putts.”
After receiving solid performances, in particular, during Monday’s afternoon round, the Governors could not match those results, Tuesday. Junior Marco Iten, who finished second in the Harmony Preserve Intercollegiate in APSU’s opening tournament, was APSU’s only golfer under par on Tuesday. After firing an uncustomary 4-over 76 in the opening round, he closed with rounds of 68 and 69 for a 213 and a third-place tie. That matched teammate Korey Smith’s overall score-the redshirt freshman, playing as an individual, was solid the entire tourney with scores 70-71-72 for his 213 score.
Senior Dustin Korte was the only other Governors to shoot par on the day, his final-round 72 giving him a 221 total and a tied for 16th. The rest of the Govs’ lineup-juniors Anthony Bradley and Trey Tarpley along with freshman Chris Baker-all fired 78s. Sophomore Tucker Wallace, also playing as an individual, shot a 75 and finished at 220, tying him for 15th overall.
“Marco is really improved,” Kayden said. “A second- and third-place finish in the first two tournaments…that is pretty impressive. He is playing really good golf right now and leading up.
“It is a little different when you are not in the lineup, but the numbers Korey posted were impressive. He played well here and Dustin played well his last two rounds. He is getting there.”
