Pugh posts second straight top-10 finish

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (Oct. 13, 2013) – The ETSU men’s golf team finished fourth and junior Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd, Wales) tied for eighth as the final round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate concluded Sunday afternoon at the Blackthorn Club.

The Bucs began the day four shots off the lead, but despite firing a 4-under 284 in Sunday’s final round, ETSU couldn’t gain any ground on the leaders. For the tournament, ETSU – who was coming off its win at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate earlier in the week – shot 12-under-par 852 (277-291-284).

After tying the lowest round of his collegiate career with a 6-under 66 on Friday, Pugh finished with back-to-back rounds of even-par 72 and ended the tournament at 6-under 210, marking his second straight top-10 finish. 

“We played better today,” said ETSU coach Fred Warren, whose team recorded its best finish at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate since placing second in 2008. “Yesterday probably knocked us out, and it was really just two holes. We were 10 over par on the 11th and 17th holes yesterday. We have a young team and I’m pleased they came back today and shot a good round.”

The team and individual championship came down to the wire as Virginia edged out both Virginia Tech and Kent State for the team title. After setting the tournament’s lowest round with a 16-under 272 on Saturday, the 15th-ranked Cavaliers shot a 13-under 275 in the final round to win the championship by one shot over the 13th-ranked Hokies and by two strokes over No. 19 Kent State. Virginia finished with the second-lowest score in the 16-year history of the tournament at 22-under-par 842 (295-272-275).

Virginia Tech’s Scott Vincent rallied to claim the individual title over Wake Forest’s Thomas Birdsey and Virginia’s Denny McCarthy by one shot. Birdsey was the clubhouse leader at 11-under, but Vincent – the eighth-ranked golfer according to Golfweek – birdied four of his final six holes to finish at 13-under-par 203, tying the lowest three-round total in tournament history.

Sophomores Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland), Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) and Chris Hickman (Centreville, Md.) all finished with solid rounds on Sunday. Meronk shot a 76 in the second round but bounced back with a 1-under 71 to finish tied for 26th at even-par 216. Kristjansson also carded a 71 in today’s final round, while Hickman wrapped up play with a 2-under 70. Meanwhile, junior Tom Heggarty (Cheshire, England) registered a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday. Heggarty was playing as an individual for the Bucs.

The Bucs return to action on Friday when ETSU travels to Georgia for the U.S. Collegiate Championship. 

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