Men’s Golf team slips in final day of Lonnie D. Small Spring Classic

by Andy Gambill Views: 2

After coming out and shooting a team score of 300 on March 5, the first day of the Lonnie D. Small Spring Classic, the Western Carolina men’s golf team slipped on the second day and turned in a score of 312. The second day score would be enough to drop the Cats from sixth place down to a seventh place tie with High Point. After leading the first day with a 69, junior Matt Cook struggled mightily on the second day and shot an 80. The second round score was tied for the worst second-day Catamount score and dropped Cook from first to 15th. All the Catamounts struggled on the second day as the highest round was 76. Had Cook shot the 76 then he would have finished in sixth place overall instead of 15th. Freshman Cody Walker tied for 20th place in the Classic as he shot a 151 overall. Walker shot the second-best score, 75, for the Cats on day one and then posted the Catamount-leading 76 on the second day. Usually solid senior Tripp Morrow finished tied for 39th in the Classic as he shot 156 overall. Morrow did however, improve from one day to the next as he shot a 79 on day one before rebounding to shoot 77 on day two. Sophomore Andres Cuenca shot a 77 on day one before sliding three strokes on day two with an 80. The two-day score of 157 would put him in a tie for 44th. The final Catamount player was freshman Ricky Stout. Stout turned in the worst first-day WCU score with an 83, but showed the most second-day Catamount improvement with a 79. Stout would finish tied for 71st with a 162. Campbell University won the tournament with a 585 two-day score. The result should come as no big surprise considering the Classic was held at Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek, NC-the home of Campbell University. Even with the familiarity of playing the course, Campbell still managed to only shoot a 9-over par for the tourney. Also of interest, Appalachian State brought up the rear of the Classic as they shot a 624 overall to finish 13th out of 15 teams, and 12 strokes behind the Catamounts. Josh Meador of Radford would win the individual title as he shot a 140. Meador posted a 72 on day one, before bouncing back and posting a very impressive 68 second day score. The four-under score of 140 was a tournament-record and was good enough to win by three strokes over second place.