NINETY SIX, S.C. – Coming into the day nine strokes back of the top four spot needed to advance to Saturday's match play semifinals, the Radford men's golf team mounted a massive comeback to force a playoff but ultimately fell to Winthrop for the final spot at the Big South Championship on Friday.
Tied for fourth at +9, both the Highlanders and the Eagles made their way to the 10
th hole for a sudden death playoff. The team with the best score at the end of the hole would clinch the fourth and final spot in the conference semis. Radford shot 1-over par in a solid showing, but Winthrop stayed even.
What the Highlanders did to force the playoff in the first place will go down as one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of this tournament.
Sitting five strokes back of Winthrop with two holes to go for each golfer, Radford proceeded to shoot eagle, birdie, birdie, bogey, and birdie on the 8
th hole to erase the entire deficit. The five Highlanders each parred the notably difficult 9
th hole to hold steady in a deadlock for that all-important fourth spot.
Winthrop entered the day at +2 and Radford at +11 before the men in red shot an extremely clutch -2 – the third best of any team - while other contenders for the fourth spot fell off.
Bryce Corbett was responsible for the aforementioned eagle, shooting a 2-under par 70 in the third round and finished stroke play in fourth place at -7.
Ryan Neil had his best round of the week with a 1-under par 71 thanks to a trio of birdies on the day and taking 17
th place.
Tyler Hull then joined him with his own best round of the week, shooting an even 72 to climb eight spots in a tie for 19
th.
Nick Taliaferro shot just 1-over par to jump up seven spots on the individual leaderboard, ending up in 31
stplace while
Patrick Gareiss also shot 1-over par to take 41
st.
Charleston Southern (-8), Gardner-Webb (-5), Campbell (+1), and Winthrop (+9) make up the final four teams in the tournament.
COURSE INFORMATION
- The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor
- Par 72
- 7,103 yards
RADFORD RESULTS
T-4
th | Radford | 294-293-286—873 (+9)
4
th |
Bryce Corbett | 68-71-70 (-7)
17
th |
Ryan Neil | 76-72-71 (+3)
T-21
st |
Tyler Hull | 75-75-72 (+6)
31
st | Nick Taliaferro | 75-78-73 (+10)
41
st |
Patrick Gareiss | 83-75-73 (+15)
TOURNAMENT FIELD (10 TEAMS, 51 GOLFERS)
Campbell, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Winthrop, High Point, USC Upstate, Presbyterian, Radford, Longwood, NC A&T
PLAYOFF
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