Story courtesy of EMU Sports Information
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. -- The Eastern Michigan University men's golf team shattered several program records at the Bank of Tennessee Invitational, Oct. 19-21, as the Eagles placed second at 41-under 823 on the par-72, 7-167-yard Blackthorn Club course in Jonesborough, Tenn., using a final-round 20-under 268 to put themselves in contention for the team win. Individually, Charlie Box, playing as an individual, finished second overall while Vicente Quiroga was the top finisher for the team with his tie for third place in an event 45-of-93 golfers shot under par over the course of three days.
How It Happened
After shooting rounds of 8-under 280 and 13-under 275, the Eagles, who came into the week ranked No. 63 in the first release of the Scoreboard/Clippd national rankings, came out hot in the final round and finished with a score of 20-under 268 to send themselves into the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead at 41-under 823 over No. 102 VCU. The Rams, however, saw their final two players record birdies on No. 18 to jump over Eastern and win with a tournament-record score of 42-under 822. The two teams were followed by No. 27 Toledo, who shot 40-under 824 as all three teams shattered the previous record of 35-under 829 that both host East Tennessee State (2021) and Virginia (2016) carded in the tournament that celebrated its 26th playing this year.
The host Buccaneers, who were ranked No. 8 nationally, finished fourth at 29-under 835 with Middle Tennessee State taking fifth at 20-under 844 and No. 135 William & Mary finishing sixth at 15-under 849. Eastern added a second win over a Mid-American Conference school in the event as Kent State tied for seventh with Austin Peay (No. 142) at 14-under 850.
Individually, Eastern saw three of its players finish in the top 10 and 7-of-8 Eagles break par in the tournament. Playing as individual, Box (Leicester, England/Wreake Valley Academy/Hutchinson CC) was the top Eastern player in the standings as he finished second overall at 15-under 201 (68-65-68) as Pennson Badgett, an individual entrant from Tennessee, took the top spot at 16-under 200. Box, who tied his lowest 54-hole score at Eastern and the third-lowest in program history with the 201 he shot to win the West Bay Collegiate last year, shot a second-round 65 to post the 12th-lowest single round score in team history.
He was followed by Quiroga (Cochabamba, Bolivia/Tiquipaya School), who tied for third at 14-under 202 (70-68-64). Quiroga, who started the final round in a tie for 11th, posted 10 birdies and two bogies to shoot a final-round 64 and make his run toward the top of the standings. His 64, the fourth-lowest in program history, was the lowest final-round score in the 26-year history of the Bank of Tennessee Invitational and helped him shoot 202, which tied for the tournament's fifth-best score with Box (tied for third) joining him on the list. Quiroga, ranked No. 244 this week, beat out 11 players ranked ahead of himself nationally, including a trio of top 50 players in No. 13 Erik Tjarnberg and No. 46 Veigar Heidarsson of ETSU and No. 27 Bence Bertenyi of MAC rival Toledo, to help him grab his second top three showing in as many tournaments after he used a final-round and school-record-tying 63 to earn co-medalist honors at the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational earlier this month (Oct. 5-6).
Felipe Suarez (Cordoba, Argentina/La Santisima Trinidad/Missouri Valley College), who shared medalist honors at the Shepherd's Rock Individual (Oct. 5-6) his last time out, added a top-10 finish as he tied for 10th at 10-under 206 (73-67-66), the 10th-lowest 54-hole score in program history. In just his third tournament with the Eagles, Suarez has shot 6-under or better in each while his 206 strokes marked the fifth time in his career that he shot that total or lower with the previous four coming last year while playing for Missouri Valley College.
The remaining players that counted toward the team's score included Parin Sarasmut (Bangkok, Thailand/Srinakharinwirot University), who tied for 21st at 6-under 210 (72-67-71), Robby Turnbull (Auckland, New Zealand/Selwyn College), who tied for 25th at 5-under 211 (66-75-67), and Arsit Areephun (Chiang Rai, Thailand/Samakkhivittayakhom/Delaware), who tied for 36th at 2-under 214 (66-73-72). Joshua Hess (Schattdorf, Switzerland/Montverde Academy (Fla.)), who tied for 46th at Even-par 216 (74-72-70), and Ben Sessions (Dunmow, Essex, United Kingdom/The Bishop's Stortford), who finished 81st at 7-over 223 (72-77-74), both played as individuals in the tournament.
