CLARKSVILLE
- Austin Peay State University started the final round with a one-shot lead and
ended up winning the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate by nine strokes,
Tuesday, at the Links at Novadell.
Sophomore
Marco Iten nailed a 40-foot putt on the second playoff hole to take home
individual honors - shooting an eight-under par 208. It was his first
collegiate tournament win and he became the seventh APSU player all-time to garner
medalist honors at the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate.
"That
was a great win for Marco and I couldn't be more proud of him," Govs head coach
Kirk Kayden said. "The guys all played really well this week and we won this
thing based on overall team performance. Just to look at scores we threw out,
it's pretty impressive. We only had one round over par for the tournament."
Austin
Peay placed their top four finishers inside the top 10 of the 93-player field.
Sophomore Anthony Bradley shot 69-70-71 to finish at seven-under par and third
place, while sophomore Trey Tarpley fired rounds of 70-71-70 for sixth place at
five-under par. Freshman Tucker Wallace was a shot back of Tarpley,
putting together a final-round 69 to finish 10th.
Unlike
the second round, Iten got off to a strong start making four birdies on the
front nine. However, he turned around to bogey Nos. 8 and 10, but made a
15-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to put him back in contention. That putt gave him
momentum for the playoff with Samford's Drew Aimone. On No. 11, Iten made the
biggest putt of the day, a 40-footer that sealed the win.
OVC
member Jacksonville State finished second with an 848, followed by Samford
(850), Binghamton (859) and OVC school Eastern Kentucky (860) making up the top
five.
It
was the first time since 2003 an Austin Peay team won consecutive
tournaments and also makes this the program's first multi-win season since 2008-09. In
2003, the Govs won their final spring tournament and backed it up by winning
the Ohio Valley Conference championships. This time the Govs head into a dead
period, with their next event not coming until the spring season opener, the March 5-6 Samford Invitational.
"We've
got some momentum now," Kayden said. "We're going to spend the break trying to
get stronger and preparing for the spring. In the past, it's seemed like two
different seasons. That's what we're going to try and avoid this time."
-AP-
