APSU Sports Information
Muscle Shoals, AL – A late-round push, highlighted by junior Hunter Tidwell, pushed Austin Peay State University men’s golf up to fourth after 18 holes at the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Golf Championship at The Fighting Joe at the Robert Trent Jones Trail stop at the Shoals.
With a one-over 289, the Govs sit alone in fourth, three shots behind Eastern Kentucky for third.
“We finished well,” said head coach Robbie Wilson. “We struggled on (holes) 9-13, but we fought and came back.
“We made enough birdies to compete at the top of the leaderboard, but we’ve got to limit the little mistakes. We missed some greens in the wrong spots and had some three-putts, and (eliminating) that will give us a solid round tomorrow and put us in contention.”
Tidwell was the Governors most consistent performer for the day, shooting a two-under 70; he birdied two of the final three holes to finish the day tied for fourth. In addition to his four birdies, he led the Govs with 12 pars.
Ten of Austin Peay’s tournament-high 21 first-round birdies came over the final five holes, with sophomore Alex Vegh accounting for three birdies and senior Erik Hedberg adding two, part of a five-birdie round for each. The duo finished the day tied for 12th with even-par 72 scores, with Hedberg’s coming thanks in part to a 3.70 stroke average on par-4 holes.
“Alex got off to a good start,” Wilson said. “Like several guys, he struggled in the middle part of the round but salvaged it with some birdies late.”
Freshman Austin Lancaster tied for 30th with a 75, leading the Governors in par-5 scoring (4.25/hole). Sophomore Sean Butscher settled down after a three-over front nine, sinking two birdies and going one-over on the back-nine to shoot 76 overall.
In round two, the Govs hope to shore up their par-3 shooting; after shooting five-under on par-5’s and even on par-4’s, Austin Peay’s 10-over on par-3’s cut into an otherwise successful performance.
“We made too many little mistakes, much the same as Missouri, where we led the field in birdies but had too many small mistakes to be in contention,” Wilson said. “If we cut out the little things and keep making birdies tomorrow, we’ll be in good shape.”
The Govs will tee off at 9:40am (CT), Tuesday, paired with Tennessee Tech and Morehead State. Live scoring is available via GolfStat.com, with periodic updates on Twitter (@AustinPeayMGO).
A complete recap will be available after the round at www.LetsGoPeay.com
Box Score
2017 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Championship
Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals
Muscle Shoals, AL
Dates: April 24th – April 26th
| Finish | School – Players | Round 1 | Totals |
| 4 | Austin Peay State University | 289 | 289 |
| T 4 | Hunter Tidwell (2) | 70 | 70 |
| T 12 | Erik Hedberg (1) | 72 | 72 |
| T 12 | Alex Vegh (4) | 72 | 72 |
| T 30 | Austin Lancaster (5) | 75 | 75 |
| T 33 | Sean Butscher (3) | 76 | 76 |
