TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Lipscomb Men's Golf posted its first top-five finish of the Spring as four Bisons finished in the top 35 in a strong field at the Seminole Intercollegiate.
The three-day tournament began with a twist: teams played until darkness suspended play on Day 1 to avoid torrential rain on Day 2. The Bisons opened their tournament with a 296 (+8), headlined by a 71 (-1) from senior Rio Saigal. Saigal started the shotgun round on Hole #8, where he birdied the 335 yard par 4. After another birdie and a pair of bogeys on the back, he made the turn at even par before doubling on Seminole Legacy's #1 tee. After an easy par on #2, Saigal bounced back on #3 by sticking his tee shot on the 220-yard par 3 and draining a short putt, which sparked a run of three birdies over the next four holes.
Following close behind Saigal with a 74 (+2) were junior Toby Bishop and sophomore Ciaran Murphy. Bishop had a pretty clean round, balancing out one of his three bogeys with a birdie on #11 while Murphy carded two birdies, including the challenging #1, which gave many players in the tournament fits throughout the week.
The Bisons ended the first round in 9th place out of 21 teams, and jumped right back into action to play as many holes as possible before darkness set in. After getting 16 holes in, play was suspended and resumed on late Monday afternoon after the rain had passed. Lipscomb finished its last two holes to shoot a 300 (+12) for the round. While not as strong as the first round, the Bisons gained ground on the field as many teams struggled with the increasing wind on Sunday and the wet conditions on Monday afternoon.
Lipscomb rolled into Tuesday's final round sitting in 8th place and motivated to charge up the standings. The format reverted back to tee times for the final round, and Lipscomb got off to a fast start when Ciaran Murphy birdied #1 for what was the first of four birdies through the first 10 holes. Murphy ended with an even par (72), as did teammate Minas Manias. Manias was even through the front, but then stumbled a bit on the back with bogeys on the long par 5 #11 and on the par 3 #13. Manias closed strong, however, with birdies on the final two holes en route to an even par on the day.
Those strokes proved critical as the Bisons posted the fourth-best round for all teams with a 295 (+7). That was good enough to propel the Bisons into the top five for the first time this Spring, and for the fourth time dating back to the Fall season. Lipscomb had a steady presence from its squad as its top four finishers all placed in the top 35 for the tournament (Manias T22, Murphy T33, Bishop T33, Saigal T33). Senior Oakley Gee also contributed by posting a final round 76 (+4), which helped keep Lipscomb in the top five for the tournament.
This was a strong field, as six of the teams in the field were all ranked nationally in the Top 100, headlined by Arkansas State (#36) and host and eventual champion Florida State (#38). The Bisons posted wins over a pair of Top 100 teams, including ASUN foe North Alabama (#89) and Southern Illinois (#97).
HEAD COACH WILL BREWER
"The Bisons stood up today and played a solid round on a windy and challenging course, leading the way to our move up the leaderboard. We are trending in the proper direction, and are thankful for everyone's support in following us as we compete!"
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will conclude its regular season at the Memphis Invitational March 30-31 before heading to the ASUN Tournament in Valdosta, GA in late April.
