GREENSBORO, Ga. (WJHL) – The Buccaneers’ shot at another conference championship seemed unlikely as late as Tuesday afternoon. The Blue and Gold trailed by eleven strokes entering the final nine holes of play at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
That’s when the squad flipped a switch – playing those final nine holes at nine-under-par – securing another SoCon championship trophy by five strokes.
The Bucs finished the three-day event with a score of 834 (-30). Chattanooga, who lost the lead late, finished in second with a score of 839 (-25).
ETSU was paced by the 1-2 finish of Mats Ege and Matty Dodd-Berry. Ege took home medalist honors, winning his second tournament of the season with a score of 202 (-14).
The Norway native birdied six of the last nine holes on his way to a 68 (-4) in the Final Round. For the tournament, Ege carded a field-best 21 birdies.
Dodd-Berry, the freshman from England, placed second, shooting a 206 (-10) on the week. His best round came on Sunday, as he shot a 66 (-6).
Archie Davies (+1, T6), Algot Kleen (+2, T20) and Remi Chartier (+3, T22) rounded out the scoring for the Bucs.
“It feels like we really earned it,” Ege said after the victory. “Everybody kind of got together at the back nine and, yeah, it took us all the way.”
“We talk about all the time – major championships are won on the last nine holes,” ETSU head coach Jake Amos said. “Everyone knows that. That’s when people really start watching and I told them that today on the back nine – I’m like ‘this is what it’s all about.’ I think they’re just tough guys – they’re really experienced, they’ve won a lot and they know how to win.”
With the victory, ETSU receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Regional tournament. The location and participants of each regional will be revealed on Wednesday, May 3 at 1 p.m. on the Golf Channel.
