Stephen Shephard (third from right) earned medalist honors and the second-ranked Hawks won the Emory Invitational on Sunday.

Posted: Apr 21, 2019

Shephard and Hawks win Emory Invitational

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. – Senior Stephen Shephard earned his fourth career win and the Huntingdon men's golf team won its fourth tournament of the season on Sunday in the Emory Invitational.

The fourth-ranked golfer in Division III, Shephard shot an even-par 71 in the final round and finished the tournament with a 2-under 211. As a team, the second-ranked Hawks shot 3-over 287 in the final round and 13-over 865 to win the tournament by 13 strokes.

Top-ranked Emory was second in the 14-team field with a three-round 878 and sixth-ranked Guilford was third with a three-round 880.

With the win, Shephard is tied for the second most career wins by a Hawk during the NCAA era. Former All-American Chase Blaich holds Huntingdon's NCAA-era record with five career wins.

The 71 in the final round was Shephard's 15^th round of par-or better this season and his 34^th career round of par-or-better. The 15 rounds this season are tied with teammate Drew Mathers for the second most by a Hawk in a season during the NCAA era. Former All-American Addison Lambeth holds Huntingdon's NCAA-era season record with 16 rounds of par-or-better.

Shephard was one of three Hawks to finish in the top-eight on Sunday. Senior Mark Connelly finished four strokes behind Shephard and tied for fourth with a 2-over 215. Connelly shot an even-par 71 in the final round.

Senior Henry Gee finished six strokes off the lead and tied for eighth with a 4-over 217. Gee shot a 2-under 69 in the final round.

Senior Wyatt Adkison shot a 5-over 76 in the final round and finished the tournament tied for 30^th with a 12-over 225. Freshman Carson Whitton shot a 6-over 77 on Sunday and tied for 37^th with a 14-over 227.

Playing as an individual, sophomore Ben Harris shot 4-over 75 in the final round and 16-over 229 for the tournament.

Coming Up: Huntingdon will play in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday-Saturday at Highland Country Club in LaGrange, Ga. The conference tournament will feature five teams ranked in the top-20 nationally.