APSU Sports Information
Sevierville, TN – Hunter Tidwell‘s opening-round 71 pushed the Austin Peay State University men’s golf team up the leaderboard to open Tennessee Tech’s Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate, which kicked off Sunday at Sevierville Golf Club’s River Course.
The Govs are third after an opening-round 297, behind Carson-Newman (287) and Lincoln Memorial (293).
Tidwell continues to put his mark on the program. The junior from Alcoa returned to East Tennessee with a flourish, firing an opening-round 71 to earn a share of second place, three shots behind Carson-Newman’s Dalton Reese. He leads the tournament in par-3 scoring (2.50/hole) after 18 holes, knocking down a team-high five birdies in the first round.
Senior Erik Hedberg and sophomore Sean Butscher fired matching 74s for the Govs to each earn a share of 12th, with Butscher standing as one of four golfers in the 54-man field to average better than par on par-4 holes (3.90/hole). Both showed a propensity to get up and down, carding a tournament-high 14 pars after round one.
Freshmen Austin Lancaster (78, t-37th) and Alex Vegh (81, t-48th) got their first round of play in Sevierville out of the way with little trouble, while Michael Busse‘s 76 as an individual tied him for 26th and one shot behind the top individuals. Busse, a Rochester Hills, Michigan native, tied for the second-best par-3 scoring (2.75/hole) after one round and picked up three birdies, second most by a Governor on the opening day of play.
“Hunter had a good back nine today that really helped out,” said head coach Robbie Wilson. “As a whole, we didn’t play the par-5s as well as we could have today. If we want to have a good day tomorrow, we have to put ourselves in better positions to score.”
Round two opens 9:00am CT, Monday. The Govs will be in the tournament-leading group alongside Carson-Newman and Lincoln Memorial.
Box Score
Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate
Sevierville Golf Club (River Course)
Sevierville, TN
Dates: March 19th – March 21st
| Finish | School – Players | Round 1 | Totals |
| 3 | Austin Peay State University | 297 | 297 |
| T 2 | Hunter Tidwell (1) | 71 | 71 |
| T 12 | Sean Butscher (2) | 74 | 74 |
| T 12 | Erik Hedberg (3) | 74 | 74 |
| T 37 | Austin Lancaster (4) | 78 | 78 |
| T 48 | Alex Vegh (5) | 81 | 81 |
