Thrash’s 1-under 71 leads Hawks in Rd. 2 of Rhodes Classic

TUNICA, Miss. – The Huntingdon men's golf team shaved off 14 strokes and climbed two spots in the team standings on Monday to finish eighth in the Rhodes College Fall Classic.

After shooting 313 on Sunday, the Hawks fired 299 on Monday and finished eighth in the 17-team tournament with a two-round total of 612.

"Today was a lot better. A round of 299 is not a great day, but we take a lot of positives out of today," Huntingdon Director of Golf Dave Schreyer said. "I'm looking forward to the Fall Preview Championship next week. We will shuffle the lineup as we look for the right chemistry, but our roster is much deeper this year. Our guys are going to have to fight for their spots and that's a good thing."

Huntingdon was one of six teams to shoot better than 300 on Monday at Tunica National Golf Course. The University of Texas-Tyler turned in the best final-round score at 284 and won the tournament with a 583. Southwestern University was second at 588 and Texas Lutheran University was third at 590.

UT Tyler's George Toone and Rhodes College's Chris Harris tied for first individually. Both players finished the tournament 1-under-par at 143.

Huntingdon sophomore Will Thrash tied for ninth at 2-over 146. Thrash shot a 3-over 75 on Sunday and tied his best collegiate round on Monday with a 1-under 71.

"Will showed why he is slated to be one of the top players in Division III golf," Schreyer said. He got off to a really tough start today and was 4-over after five holes. But like I said Sunday, he is a different player this year.

"A year ago, he would have had trouble turning it around, but this year he understands that his bad days are what will define his career. Will played his last 13 holes at 5-under and that is what a leader does. I couldn't be happier with his progression and leadership."

Freshman Mac Harris, who shot a 4-over 76 in his first collegiate round, followed up with a 3-over 75 on Monday and finished tied for 25th at 151. Junior David James shot a 2-over 74 in the final round and finished tied for 28th at 152. James' 74 was three strokes off his best collegiate round.

"David played a very solid round today and should have been a few strokes under himself. He struck the ball really well, but just burned the lip of the cup all day," Schreyer said. "As for Mac, he is the real deal. I love to see a freshman step in and know his score is going to count. Mac controlled his ball both days and really looked like he had been playing college golf for years."

Behind the Hawks' top three, senior Steven Smith shot 163 and freshman Alex Brownell shot 170.

Huntingdon plays in the Fall Preview Championship on Sept. 21-22.