Bowling Green, KY – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s golf team took down Western Kentucky 4-3 in match play from Indian Hills Golf Course, Monday, to take an 8.5-5.5 aggregate victory for the two-day event coupled with the February 8th contest in Clarksville.
The Govs bested Western Kentucky in both match play events this spring and have won four of five heads-up match play opportunities dating back to February 2020.
With shots that mattered and two matches needing extra golf to decide the outcome, it was an atmosphere that recalled the living and dying with every shot a contender would have on the final day of competition at a conference championship.
“[Western Kentucky] Coach [Chan] Metts and I wanted something like this for our guys,” said Austin Peay head coach Robbie Wilson. “This is an experience you don’t get to have all the time, and when you get into moments like this, with putts and shots that mattered coming down the stretch, that’s huge not just for us in the short-term, today, but in the long term too.”
Two Governors were dominant from the outset in Bowling Green. Chase Korte was a 2&1 victor and Austin Lancaster cruised to a comfortable 3&2 win against Bowling Green native Christian Tooley for the win. However, losses for Alex Vegh (2&1), Micah Knisley (3&2) and Garrett Whitfield (2&1) left the Govs in need of two wins to secure both the day and the aggregate.
Those two wins both required extra golf. Jordan Rodriguez, playing in memory of his grandfather who recently passed away, needed 22 holes to put away Jack Poole to secure the aggregate for the Govs; minutes later Michael Busse won his second hole of extra golf to ensure Austin Peay as the victor in both halves of the home-and-home match play event.
“The guys have been working hard,” Wilson said. “It hasn’t always looked good on the leaderboard but we’re trying to peak at the right time and today was a huge step for us.”
The Govs return to action next weekend at the National Intercollegiate, March 28th-30th, 2021 in Greensboro, Georgia.
