RICHMOND, Va. – Men's golf season completed its first tournament of the 2022-23 season on Tuesday, finishing 14th after a third-round 8-over 296 on the par-72, 6,927-yard The Country Club of Richmond Tuckahoe Creek golf course.
The Aggies ended the two-day VCU Shoot Out hosted Virginia Commonwealth University with a three-round, 54-hole 15-over 879 after shooting a two-round 7-over score on Monday.
VCU and Charleston Southern finished regulation tied for first at 36-under 828. After that, the two teams went into a sudden death playoff that Charleston Southern won on the fourth hole. VCU and Charleston tied for the new tournament scoring record at 36-under. The previous record stood at 28-under.
Third-place finisher Georgia Southern shot 35-under. Rhode Island (27-under, 837) and Richmond (24-under, 840) rounded out the top-5.
Junior Martin Gutierrez led the Aggies on Tuesday with a third-round 1-over 73, totaling four birdies on his card. Graduate Diego Gonzalez had the highest finish for A&T. He finished in a tie for 52nd with a three-round 2-over 218.
William & Mary's Matthew Feinsten won the tournament by shooting 15-under 201. George Washington's Jakub Hiranda (14-under 202) finished second, Rhode Island's Chuck Tragesser (13-under, 203) and Old Dominion's Jakob Chicoyne finished tied for third, and there was a five-way tie for fifth.
Gutierrez started his day on the par-4, 400-yard 17th with a bogey but quickly recovered to post five straight pars before birdieing the par-5, 524-yard fifth to get to even par. Back-to-back bogeys on seven and eight moved Gutierrez to 2-over before back-to-back birdies on nine and 10 got him back even.
Two more bogeys coupled with a three on the par-4, 435-yard 15th helped him shoot 73 on the day. He finished the tournament in a tie for 58th with a 3-over 219. Gutierrez led the Aggies with 10 birdies over 54 holes played.
Gonzalez's day started promising. His third round started on the 16th. He birdied the 559-yard, par-5 18th to move to even par on the day. He then eagled the par-5, 564-yard No. 1 to go into the red at 2-under. But he double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the third and fifth holes to shoot 2-over in the third round.
Sophomore Carson Witherspoon finished 3-over on the day and ended the tournament in a tie for 69th at 7-over 223. Junior Anthony Ford, Jr. closed out the scoring for A&T on Tuesday by shooting a 2-over. Freshman Drew Walker shot 6-over on Tuesday.
The Aggies return to action Oct. 3-4 in the Ironwood Classic hosted by East Carolina University at the Ironwood Golf and Country Club.
