Bowling Green - The Freed-Hardeman men's golf team opened up the Mid-South Conference Fall Preview in Bowling Green, Ky. by shooting a team +7 to sit in 4th place of seven teams. Drew Massengale picked up five birdies on his way to shooting a 72-even par, sitting in a tie for eighth individually. Lane Walton, shooting 73, and Lucas Gupton, shooting 74, both sat in the top 15 after round one. Leo Huddleston was middle of the pack, shooting +4, with Jayce Hutchens shooting an 80. Jay Coleman shot an 80, and Braden Gillespie shot an 84, while playing as individuals, separate from team scoring.
FHU shot another +7 round to conclude Day One, but fell back in the leaderboard to fifth. Jayce Hutchens bounced back from his 80 round one, to shoot a 72-even par round 2. Massengale and Walton both shot 74s, and held their place in the top 15. Gupton and Huddleston shot 75s to grab top-30 spots going into the final day.
FHU used a strong final day to improve their team score by shooting a -6 team score, the second best of the day, back by just one stroke. However, they held firm in fifth place in the team standings. Massengale shot a 70 to jump back into the top-10 for a T9 finish. Gupton shot five birdies on the front nine leading to a 69 round, and a T12 finish, tied with teammate Walton after shooting a 71. Hutchens shot another 72 to keep himself at +8 for the tournament. Huddleston shot an 80 to finish at +15. In the individual battle, Coleman shot a 36 front nine, but ended with a 43 back nine to finish +7 for the round, while Gillespie shot a 77 in the final round.
Freed-Hardeman, as a team, had the second best scoring on Par 4s, averaging 4.09 across the tournament, and tying for the second most birdies, with 46. Lane Walton had the second best scoring on Par 3s, shooting -3 throughout the tournament, while Massengale was sixth on Par 4s, shooting even. Gupton and Massengale tied with other individuals for the second most birdies, gathering 13. Walton and Massengale both led the field in the fewest double-bogeys or worse, only grabbing 1. Gupton was tied for fourth in least bogeys shot, with 7, and Walton right behind him in T8 with only 8.
This tournament concludes the fall season for the golf team, but they will pick back up in the spring.
