Snow Hill, N.C. – With the pressure on, the Catawba Men's golf team was at their best in the third and final round of the Barton College Fall Invitational, putting together a big-time performance on Tuesday to surge into fifth place in the final standings at Cutter Creek Golf Club with a score of +35 after 54 holes (Par 72).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Catawba opened things slowly on Monday with a +17 in the opening round, but would improve as the play progressed. A +13 in the second round would leave Catawba ninth out of 17 teams
- But that would be where the breakthrough happened, with everything clicking and the result being a stellar +5 in the third round, which was the second-best score posted across the final 18 holes
- Paul Esnault was once again a consistent force, finishing T-7th after rising nine spots in the final round with a total score of +3, 219. Esnault opened play strongly, posting an opening round where he birdied twice and had a par or better on 15/18 holes to finish at even, 74. While he lost some ground with a +2, 74 in the second round, Esnault returned on Tuesday with some of his best golf of the tournament. A shaky start that included two bogeys and a double bogey in the first five holes gave way to a run where Esnault was par or better in each of the remaining 13 holes, including four birdies en route to a -1, 71 third round. His 11 total birdies would be tied for the most on the Catawba team.
- Chad Coburn was even more impressive in the third round than Esnault, though a tough second round would see him finish T-17th at +6, 222. Coburn similarly opened play strong on Monday, with four birdies and 14/18 holes overall at par or better for a +2, 73 start. While he'd start the second round off +1, a +8 back-nine (81 total) would leave Coburn at 40th going into the final round on Tuesday. But a brilliant response saw him climb 23 spots after the conclusion of round three, thanks to a scorching -4, 68 effort consisting of Coburn putting together six birdies and finishing just one of eighteen holes over par. His 11 birdies tied Esnault for most among Catawba players.
- Connor Carter ended Tuesday at +13, 229, finishing T-37th. His best play came in the second round, where he posted an even, 72 thanks to five birdies. However, a +7, 79 in the opening round and a +6, 78 in the final round meant that he would be unable to continue climbing following round two. Carter's 32 pars led the team
- Ryan Masterton finished play T-60th with a score of +19, 235, with a performance mirroring that of Carter. He put together a strong second round, a +3, 75 showing with five birdies, but was unable to build on it after an opening round of +7, 79 and a +9, 81 third round.
- Hayden Mincey wrapped up T-76th with a score of +24, 240, steadily improving as play went on. He had a rocky +12, 84 in the opening round, but improved by four in each of the following to go +8, 80 in the second and +4, 76 in the third, including 13/18 holes at or under par in the final frame with two birdies.
NOTES
- Catawba finished sixth as a team with 39 birdies
- Esnault and Coburn finished second among individuals in Par 3s and Par 4s, respectively. The pair also finished T-6th overall in birdies with their mark of 11 each
- Esnault has finished in the Top-10 in all three of his appearances; T-6th, 10th, and T-7th
UP NEXT
- The men wrap up play in the fall and will start up again in their championship season in the spring
