- J. Andrew Lockwood -
Senior Editor of The Bear Zone/ Sports Columnist
james.andrew.lockwood@student.mercer.edu
Golfstat.com ranks the Bears 88th in the nation after their last finish at the Rio Pinar Invitational in Orlando. Ask anyone on the golf team though or even head coach Andrew Tredway and they’ll tell you that they still have room for improvement. Mercer’s best-kept secret may not remain so ambiguous if they keep beating top opponents like they have been. A 7th place finish in the Orlando-based tournament put them ahead former #1 Baylor, VCU, Ohio State, Kentucky, Memphis, and Wichita State, all programs ranked in the top 100 in the nation.
“Seventh place may not seem all that great to some but we think of it as a win for us over the opponents that we finish above,” commented Tredway after the tournament on MercerBears.com. He added, “For us to be beating teams like Baylor, VCU, Ohio State, and Kentucky is a pretty big deal.” For a school starving for conference titles, the drought may be over this year in men’s golf. Of Mercer’s 15 rounds at the Rio Pinar, five of the rounds were 72 (E) or lower. Senior Bill Jones III scored three of those rounds, posted a 70, 72, and 70 during the three day tournament. Jones would go on to finish in a tie for fourth while teammates Devin Patel (T-27th), Ryan Blackburn (T-46th), Matt Smith (T-46th), and Andres Pumariega (T-46) would follow behind.
For the tournament, Mercer finished with a total score of 873 (+9) in the closely contested event. In fact, Mercer finished just three strokes back from 3rd place finisher Louisville. “This tournament was big for us,” said Tredway. “I don’t know where it ranks among events in Mercer golf history, but this has got to be up there given the quality of the teams that we beat today. It was a really good round and we will enjoy it while we can, but I still don’t think we’ve played our best golf yet. We are getting a lot of confidence, and this is definitely something we can build on as we continue to improve,” the head coach added.
As Mercer continues to roar through the spring schedule, they hope for another top finish at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Florida on March 6-8. After the Seminole Intercollegiate, the Bears will have two more tournaments to boost their status before heading to the Atlantic Sun Tournament in Buies Creek, North Carolina in late April.
For more photos of Mercer's Men's Golf Team, visit www.golfincontext.net
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