SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Christopher Newport men's golf team closed out its first tournament of the Spring season on Tuesday with an 11th-place showing against a field of 20 teams in the 54-hole event. Leading the way for CNU, senior
Owen Cook (-2) finished a top-ten individual performance with a ninth-place showing with a 214 (68-72-74).
As a team, the Captains finished the third round with an 886 (291-291-304) and tied Averett for 11th on the team leaderboard. Washington and Lee captured the team title with an 855 (288-282-285), edging out Methodist by one stroke.
Cook set a personal best for a 54-hole tournament with his 214, shaving five strokes off his previous best effort coming in the Gate City Invitational this fall. It stands as the finest three-round score of the season for Christopher Newport and the lowest 54-hole finish since Alex Price fired a 208 in the Camp Lejeune Classic nearly two years ago.
After a four-under start through the first day, Cook added a two-over 74 in Tuesday's third round. He notched birdies on the 533-yard par five 4th hole, the 530-yard par five 11th, and the 172-yard par three 15th. His back nine highlighted the morning action as he played back into the club house in 35 strokes with two birdies and six pars. With the overall showing, Cook finished with his second top-ten finish in four events this year.
Rookie
J.P. Carr recorded the next best round of the day for CNU on Tuesday with a three-over 75. After setting a personal best low round on Monday with a 74 in the second round, the freshman came back on Tuesday with another outstanding performance. He fired 13 pars in the final round and added a birdie on the 434-yard par four 12th. He finished out the event with a 228 (79-74-75), tied for 72nd on the individual leaderboard.
Michael Thomas added a 220 (72-71-77) to finish 30th for the Captains. The lefty started strong on Tuesday with birdies on two of his first five holes and finished with three birdies in the round. He was under par on the 427-yard par four 2nd, the 406-yard par four 5th, and the 11th.
Rounding out the Captains effort in the first tournament of the spring were
Brian O'Dea (+10) in 64th and
Nick Alexander (+19) in 90th place. Both fired sub-80 rounds on Tuesday with a 78 from O'Dea and a 79 by Alexander.
Christopher Newport will return to action at the Hampden-Sydney Invitational in Pinehurst, N.C. on March 9-10.
