OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – North Carolina A&T is playing excellent golf as the men's golf season winds down. The Aggies shot a season-best 1-under par on Tuesday to finish in eighth place at the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate hosted by Tennessee State University at the par-71, 7,020-yard Hermitage Golf Club Presidents Reserve golf course.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, the five teams who started the day ahead of A&T also finished under par on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Belmont shot an 8-under 276 and won the tournament by carding a 9-under 843. Evansville moved up one spot to finish second by shooting a final-round 7-under 277 on Tuesday.
The Purple Aces shot an 8-under 844 for the tournament. Longwood placed third at 6-under 846, followed by Tennessee Tech (3-under 849) and Morehead State to round out the top-5 at 2-under 850.
Individually, two Aggies shot under par, including Samuel Drew Walker. Walker shot a 1-under 70 in the third round. It marked his seventh straight round shooting par or under, extending his program record. Walker is 8-under over his last seven rounds played.
Walker moved up three places on the leaderboard with his Tuesday showing to finish in a tie for seventh with a three-round 3-under 210. Walker finished only four strokes behind the tournament individual champions Justin Larue of Longwood and Lindenwood University's Renato Filho. Filho and Larue became the medalists by 7-under 206s.
Belmont's Jack Schoenberger and Tennessee Tech's Jackson Skeen finished in a tie for third at 6-under 207. Evansville's Michael Ikejiani and Arkansas Pine-Bluff's Patrick Mwendapole finished in a tie for fifth at 4-under 209, followed by Walker and Belmont's Reeve Felner.
Walker carded two birdies on the afternoon and 10 for the tournament. He was effective on the par-4s and fives throughout the tournament, shooting 2-under on the par-4s and 2-under on the par-5s.
Graduate Diego Gonzalez also had a good day on the course, shooting a 1-under 70. Gonzalez shot under par in two of the three rounds he played at the TSU Big Blue, but his 79 placed him in a nine-way tie for 40th. Gonzalez had 10 birdies and one eagle for the tournament.
Carson Witherspoon was one of the golfers who joined Gonzalez in 40th place. He shot a 1-over under 72 on Tuesday. Martin Gutierrez recovered from shooting a two-round 7-over on Monday to shoot an even-par 71. Gutierrez finished in a six-way tie for 57th with a three-round 7-over 220. Conrado Chozas shot 227 for the tournament.
The Aggies will now prepare for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Golf Championships, April 23-25, in Saint Helens Island, SC.
