Murray State men’s golfer Austin Knight posted a third place finish Sunday at the FAU Slomin Autism Invite at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens Florida.
Knight recorded rounds of 72-71-71 for a total of 2-under-par 214 to place third in the field of 77 players.
After a slow start with an opening 316, the Racers come home with a better feeling after passing three teams to get a 10th place finish after rounds of 296 and 297 for a 909 total. MSU placed 10th just behind Florida Atlantic (906) and Florida Gulf Coast (897). The Racers had a 20-shot improvement from round one to round two.
Other MSU finishes included Gabe Wheeler with a share of 40th place on rounds of 82-72-75=229. Avery Edwards and Matthew Winder placed 58th. Edwards had scores 82-78-74=234 and Winder carded scores of 80-75-79=234. Matthew Zakutney placed 65th on scores of 82-79-77=238.
Central Florida was the winner at 867, with Jacksonville State (874), UConn (883), Southern Miss (887) and Northern Illinois (889) made up the top-5.
The Racers’ next challenge is (April 3-4) at the ASU Red Wolves Classic. The 54 hole event will be played at Ridgepointe Country Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Match Notes
Austin Knight ended the 54 holes leading the field in par-4 scoring at 4.03 strokes per hole. He was third in par-3 scoring with an average of 3.0 strokes per hole.
Knight made one of the 18 eagles in the event. He did it on the par-4 13th hole in the second round when he holed out a wedge shot from 92 yards. He was the only player to made a two there in the event.
The Squire course at PGA National played to a distance of 6,447 yards and to a par of 72.
Jacksonville State’s Daniel Pico came from behind to get the medalist title on rounds of 69-72-68=209. He passed Central Florida’s Manuel Elvira who had the 54-hole lead and finished with rounds of 68-72-70=210.
Dave Winder
Murray State Athletics – Assistant AD – Media Relations
