BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After finished the day in fifth place with a chance to make a move, the Millsaps Majors Men's Golf Team did just that in the final round of the Southern Athletic Association Preview. Three Majors finished the tournament in the Top 15 as Millsaps finished fourth overall after a great round of golf and a score of 302.
"We are very pleased with our finish today after we had a great team meeting last night to fire the guys up," said Head Coach Eddie Brescher. "So we kind of came out today with a chip on our shoulders to move up."
Junior Thomas Baxter dropped two strokes, but still managed a score of 76 to finished 7th overall with a total score of 150 at the tournament and led all Majors.
Coach Brescher raved about Baxter as he stepped up throughout the tournament, ""Thomas posted solid numbers so far this fall and he proved he is ready to jump to the next level with his game this week."
Junior Chris Patton was right behind Baxter as he shot a 77 on the afternoon to finish 11th overall with a total score of 151. Junior Drew Richardson was one of the huge improvements on the day, shooting a team high 75 to be the third Majors to finish in the Top 15 with a total score of 153.
A paird of freshmen made huge strides on the second day in Carlitos Fernandez and Cody Davis. Fernandez finished the second day with a 76, dropping his score by four strokes, and finishing tied for 25th with a score of 156. Meanwhile, Davis had the biggest improvement of the day, dropping his score by seven strokes and finishing with a team high score of 75 to finish tied for 27th with a total score of 157. Sophomore Garrett Barnes rounded out Millspas with a total score of 158 to finish tied for for 30th.
"All our guys played solid across the board," added Brescher. "When you play six guys and have to throw out a 77 and 78, thats when you know your on to something good."
Brescher went on to acknowledge the toughness his men showed as four Majors improved their scores greatly on Day Two, ""Carlitos, Drew, Cody and Garrett all had shaky starts to the day being well over par early on, but they showed some toughness as they all finished their rounds in great form. I'm very proud of the way these guys hung in there and fought hard for their teammates."
The Majors showed that they are ready to compete with some of the best golf teams in all of Division III. Defending National Champion Oglethorpe showed they are not ready to give up their crown anytime soon as they won the Preview with a team score of 569. Centre made a huge move to go into second with a team score of 597 while Rhodes fell to third with a score of 607, only one stroke in front of Millsaps.
The Majors came into this round one stroke behind Berry College and blasted the Vikings by 11 strokes to take over fourth place.
Millsaps returns to action on October 7th as they travel to go to Rome, Ga. to compete in the Berry College Chick-fil-A Classic.
