Michael Shipma
Sports Editor
The Troy men’s golf team finished sixth out of 12 teams at The Intercollegiate at the Grove tournament in College Grove, Tennessee, which was cut short due to rain on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Troy got off to a fast start in the opening round, tallying up a tournament high on their way to a three-over-291 performance. All six Trojans that performed in the tournament finished the day in the top 25 in the individual rankings.
Juniors Clayton Vannoy, Luke Moser and Jared Bettcher all recorded four birdies in the first round, on their way to leading the team to a second-place finish, just two shots behind first-place Lipscomb. In the second and last round of play, the Trojans fell behind, finishing with a 21-over-306, led by Bettcher and freshman Calum Masters, who both finished the second round with a three-over-75.
Bettcher led his team with four birdies, followed closely by three birdies from Masters. In a crucial second round for the Trojans, they were just seven shots shy of stealing second place from Lipscomb.
Middle Tennessee, College of Charleston, and Cincinatti all barely edged out Troy in the second round by four shots or fewer. The Trojans hoped to bounce back in the final round, but Mother Nature had other plans, as rainfall forced the tournament to be cut a round short.
The men’s golf team will look to improve over its winter break, as does not return to action until Friday, Feb. 19, when it travels to Houston, Texas to participate in the All-American Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Houston.
