Murray State men’s golf aims to place high in the March 29-31 Spring Break Invitational.
The Racers tee off in Boca Raton, Fla., at the Fountains Country Club starting today, Florida Atlantic University is hosting the event. Head Coach Eddie Hunt said the team hopes to continue its streak of solid individual and team performances and expects a top-ranking finish in Boca Raton.
“We have a really good opportunity to place in the top five,” Hunt said. “I’ll be really disappointed if we don’t.“
Hunt said the Spring Break Invitational features many East Coast opponents and several other non-conference colleges that will help prepare the Racers for OVC play. Patrick Newcomb said he is optimistic about Hunt’s top-five ambitions.
“Oh, definitely. I definitely think we can finish in the top five,” Newcomb said. “I think perhaps we can even win it.”
Hunt said the Racers need someone to step up in the fifth spot, which has been filled mostly by freshmen.
“We’ve had really good play from our seniors,” Hunt said. “We are having a hard time finding a fifth man.”
As for Newcomb, the senior said he’s playing better than ever.
“I feel really confident going in,” Newcomb said. “My game is really good right now. I expect to play well.”
Murray State is coming off an eighth of 18 ranking with a score of 907 at the March 16-18 Mission Hill Spring Spectacular in Orlando, Fla. Indiana University won the event scoring 869.
“It was a really good tournament with a lot of good teams we don’t usually get to play,” Hunt said. “I felt like going into the tournament that we had a shot at a top-five finish and we fell just short of that.”
“Overall, I was very pleased with the way we played,” Hunt said. “We had Patrick finish 11th out of 116.”
Murray State’s top two performances came from seniors Newcomb and Hunter York. Newcomb placed in 11th place and York at 23rd in the large field of opponents.
Tyler Brown and Preston French landed in 60th and 64th. Duncan McCormick rounded out the Racers’ tournament in 77th place. Jared Gosser placed 10th of 26 in individual play and 64th overall.
The Racers played the strongest in round two of the competition. Hunt said good weather at benefited Murray State’s performance. Newcomb agreed that weather plays a part.
“It takes a little longer to come back from the winter in Kentucky,” Newcomb said.
Murray State will tee off at the Fountains Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., today and return on Sunday.
Story by Kelly Farrell, Contributing writer.