Golf team surges to fifth in tournament
Jeremy Acree
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: Sports
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By Jeremy Acree
Staff Reporter
Sophomore Jonathon Hodge was named the SoCon golfer of the month for February and helped the men's team to a fifth-place finish over spring break at the Carter Plantation Intercollegiate.
Individually, Hodge, of Jefferson City, Tenn., finished fourth at the tournament in Hammond, La. His final score of one under par allowed him to claim his third straight top-five finish.
His final round of 68, second-lowest in the field, moved Hodge from 16th to fourth, with a final total of 215.
Hodge was also named SoCon player for the week of March 7.
As Hodge led the way for the Mocs, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., freshman Derek Rende also played competitively, finishing tenth overall at the tournament with two over par.
Rende played well in the first two rounds leaving him at -2 and one shot off the lead, but he struggled after a quadruple-bogey in the final round and ended up at +4.
Chattanooga finished fifth overall at +22 as a team with solid efforts from Lewisburg, Tenn., senior Mitch Brock and Chattanooga senior Bryce Ledford, who wound up +9 and +15 respectively.
The fifth place finish snapped the Mocs win streak at two, but they continued to climb in Golfstat and Golfweek rankings.
The Mocs' No. 42 rank in Golfweek magazine and No. 45 in Golfstat are the highest in the university's history, and with the top scorers being so young, things look to only get better for the team.
Southeastern Louisiana University, which is also located in Hammond, La., had a home field advantage and led the whole way, finishing six strokes ahead of second-place team Middle Tennessee State University.
SLU also had two players in the top five, including James Taverner who won the tournament with a final score of four under par.
Hodge and Rende look to continue their impressive scores in a couple weeks at the South Alabama Classic in Mobile, Ala., March 26 and 27.
While the younger members of the team continue their strong presence, coach Mark Guhne will be looking for some help from Brock and Ledford to increase their top-50 ranking even more.
Staff Reporter
Sophomore Jonathon Hodge was named the SoCon golfer of the month for February and helped the men's team to a fifth-place finish over spring break at the Carter Plantation Intercollegiate.
Individually, Hodge, of Jefferson City, Tenn., finished fourth at the tournament in Hammond, La. His final score of one under par allowed him to claim his third straight top-five finish.
His final round of 68, second-lowest in the field, moved Hodge from 16th to fourth, with a final total of 215.
Hodge was also named SoCon player for the week of March 7.
As Hodge led the way for the Mocs, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., freshman Derek Rende also played competitively, finishing tenth overall at the tournament with two over par.
Rende played well in the first two rounds leaving him at -2 and one shot off the lead, but he struggled after a quadruple-bogey in the final round and ended up at +4.
Chattanooga finished fifth overall at +22 as a team with solid efforts from Lewisburg, Tenn., senior Mitch Brock and Chattanooga senior Bryce Ledford, who wound up +9 and +15 respectively.
The fifth place finish snapped the Mocs win streak at two, but they continued to climb in Golfstat and Golfweek rankings.
The Mocs' No. 42 rank in Golfweek magazine and No. 45 in Golfstat are the highest in the university's history, and with the top scorers being so young, things look to only get better for the team.
Southeastern Louisiana University, which is also located in Hammond, La., had a home field advantage and led the whole way, finishing six strokes ahead of second-place team Middle Tennessee State University.
SLU also had two players in the top five, including James Taverner who won the tournament with a final score of four under par.
Hodge and Rende look to continue their impressive scores in a couple weeks at the South Alabama Classic in Mobile, Ala., March 26 and 27.
While the younger members of the team continue their strong presence, coach Mark Guhne will be looking for some help from Brock and Ledford to increase their top-50 ranking even more.
