DICKSON, Tenn.—Crown Austin Peay State University men's golf team as the 2013 Ohio Valley Conference champion.
With heavy rains pelting the GreyStone Golf Course and Dickson, Saturday morning, the final round was dismissed and the Governors declared champions.
With the victory Austin Peay earned the OVC's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. The 2013 field will be announced on Monday, May 6, at 8 p.m. CT on NCAA.com. The NCAA Regionals will take place on May 16-18 and will be held at six sites – Baton Rouge, La.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Columbus, Ohio; Fayetteville, Ark.; Tempe, Ariz., and Pullman, Wash. The National Championship will be held May 28 - June 2 at the Capital City Club/Crabapple Course in Atlanta.
It was APSU's eighth OVC tourney championship—first since 2009—and second under head coach Kirk Kayden. But don't think for a minute the Governors backed into the championship.
APSU was the only team to shoot below par during the tourney's first two days—the Govs' back-to-back 568s left them nine shots of clear of runner up Jacksonville State. Four (Anthony Bradley and Dustin Korte 3-under 141, Chris Baker and Marco Iten 1-under 143) of the tourney's 14 under par scores belonged to the Governors.
“I am very excited for the whole program,” APSU coach Kirk Kayden said. “We have not won it since 2009. I am so happy for these guys. It is just a great feeling for these guys, just a wonderful experience. They played exceptional golf all spring long and, after what happened last (losing by one stroke on the tourney's final hole), I think they had that resolve, that motivation to not let it happen again.
“In fact, when we got in the van last year a couple of the guys said if this doesn't motivate us, nothing will and they held to that all year. They practiced hard all year, starting with the chipping and putting drills…through the qualifying, through all the tournaments. They weren't going to let what happened last year happen again. I think our guys proved that all year and with the way they played in this tournament this week against a strong field.”
With the OVC title, the Governors now have won a school-record six championships this season, breaking the mark of the 1978-79 and 2002-03 teams, which won five. As a result of his team's outstanding play this season in addition to the OVC championship, Kayden earned the added bonus of being the OVC Coach of the Year, his first such honor.
In addition, senior Dustin Korte and junior Anthony Bradley, who tied for fifth individually, were named to the OVC all- tournament team. That duo, along with junior Marco Iten, was named All-OVC, Thursday night.
Patrick Newcomb, of Murray State, was tourney medalist after shooting 139 (69-70) and will advance to regional play as an individual.
-AP-
