WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – Lipscomb Men's Golf opened its season in a big way, being crowned the JT Poston Invitational Champions. In addition, the Bisons' Alejandro Rodriguez was crowned the Individual Champion. 
 
Lipscomb asserted itself as the top squad early and never looked back. After the first round of competition, The Bisons led the field with a 274 (-6), a four-stroke lead over the field. The Bisons had an even better round of play on the second day of competition, scoring a 269 in the second round for a 543 (-17) overall. The round extended Lipscomb's lead to 11 strokes. The Bisons weren't as strong in the third round of play, shooting a 286, but were able to close things out to claim the tournament championship. All told, the Bisons finished with an overall score of 829 (-11), finishing eight strokes ahead of ASUN foe, Kennesaw State, who finished second. 
 
Rodriguez earned his first Individual Championship as a Bison at the JT Poston Invitational. Much like his squad, Rodriguez was in the lead after the first round of competition and never surrendered the lead. His first round was his best as he carded a 65 (-5) on the day, leading the field by a stroke. He stayed on track with a 66 in the second round, improving his score to par to (-9). Rodriguez was still ahead by just a stroke heading into the final day of competition, and closed things out with a 69. His final round saw him pull away from the field, finishing at (-10). He finished four strokes ahead of fellow ASUN golfer Claes Borregaard of Kennesaw State. All told, Rodriguez had 14 birdies and an eagle en route to his victory. 
 
Lipscomb got another top-five finish from Minas Manias who was the fifth-place finisher. He had a stellar first round with a 66, to sit in second place after the first 18-holes. He continued to play well, shooting a 69 in the second round and a 72 in the third round for an overall score of 207 (-3). 
 
Sam Potter was the next finisher for Lipscomb, who tied for 22^nd. He opened up his tournament with a 72 before putting up his best round with a 68 in the second-18 holes. He wrapped up the tournament with a 73 for an overall score of 213 (+3). 
 
Jaron Leasure and Jack Morris rounded out the team scoring for the Bisons. Leasure finished with a 217 (71, 74, 72) for a 35^th-place finish. Morris tied for 46^th with a 220 (73, 66, 81). 
 
Toby Bishop competed as an individual and finished in 81^st place (75, 75, 78). 

HEAD COACH WILL BREWER
"I am really proud of this effort! Today [Tuesday] was most challenging as it rained off and on and the course was saturated, making it more difficult to manage. This was our first time to compete in the JR Poston and interestingly, JR Poston is a PGA Tour player whose caddie is a former Lipscomb Men's Golf team member. Arron Flenor played a few years ago for the Bisons. He is a friend of the program! The course and club was an excellent venue! The course didn't quite fit our strengths - however the men managed the very challenging hole locations of the extremely fast running greens. I'm proud of each of them, however, I am excited for senior Alejandro Rodriguez as he is maturing into an excellent player and growing as an authentic man! This team's culture and character are growing."
 
UP NEXT 
Lipscomb will play at the Graeme McDowell Invitational hosted by UAB on Sep. 22-24.