By Lohan Sutton
No. 14 Tennessee men’s golf showed exactly why they are a postseason threat, battling to a fourth-place finish at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Golf Tournament.
Round one got off to a hot start for the Volunteer squad as they erupted out of the gates with a 12-under-par team score, putting them in a tie for second place alongside NC State. The early lead belonged to No. 25 Florida State at 16-under-par.
Bruce Murphy delivered a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 in his opening round to rocket him into solo second on the individual leaderboard. The rest of the Volunteer lineup came with the backup, with Lance Simpson, Luke Smith, and Josh Hill all carding under-par rounds.
Day one was a grind: 36 holes of golf for the competitors. The second round was a different story with No. 2 Virginia posting a massive 15-under-par team total to take control of the leaderboard. Another big mover was the SMU squad, leaping into second with a 13-under-par.
Murphy refused to fade. After three early bogeys on his second-round front nine, he closed with five birdies on the back nine to finish 2-under-par and hung on to a share of second on the individual leaderboard.
Volunteer freshman Chase Kyes caught fire in the second round to lead the team with a 3-under-par, giving the Vols a huge boost.
By the end of the marathon day, Tennessee sat tied for third and had four players inside the top 25 individually.
Murphy was able to cap off the tournament with a final round 3-under-par 68, with just one bogey coming in the closing holes. This brought his tournament score to 12-under-par, earning him solo third and his second top-five of the season.
Tennessee Leaderboard:
3. Bruce Murphy, -12
T22. Luke Smith, -2
T22. Lance Simpson, -2
T33. Josh Hill, +1
T37. Chase Kyes, +2
Virginia ran away with the tournament title at 39-under-par, 13 strokes better than second-place Florida State.
Leaderboard:
1. Virginia, -39
2. Florida State, -26
3. SMU, -23
4. Tennessee, -20
5. Charlotte, -17
6. NC State, -16
7. Maryland, -3
8. Liberty, -2
9. Texas State, +8
10. Virgina Tech, +16
11. Loyola Maryland, +22
12. Toledo, +24
Tennessee walked away with momentum, confidence, and proof that they are peaking at the right time.
This tournament officially closed the book on an outstanding regular season for the Volunteers. The squad notched two tournament titles this season at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate and Pauma Valley Invitational.
The squad has also been a consistent force in the SEC and national rankings.
With the regular season in the rearview, the Vols now set their sights on the SEC Championship April 22-26 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
With the consistency and depth the team has shown this season, Tennessee is ready to make some serious noise this postseason.