Old Waverly Collegiate Championship Final Results

Old Waverly Collegiate Championship Final Results

WEST POINT, Miss. - The Coastal Carolina men's golf team was one of four teams to shoot under par Tuesday, carding a 1-under 287, and moved up two spots to finish sixth with a 54-hole score of 881 at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, played at the par-72, 7,000-yard Old Waverly Golf Club.

States Fort had his first career top 10 while Thadd Obecny II was 12th and Morgan Deneen was 16th. It marks the second time this season CCU has put three among the top 20 and first time since the second event of the season. Both Obecny and Deneen have tallied four top-20 finishes this season to lead the team.

The Chanticleers made a strong run during its final 18 holes, moving up to as high as fourth. The team turned in its 11th round under par for the season and first of the spring campaign.

"We had two goals today -- finish among the top four and beat all the Sun Belt teams in the field -- and we nearly accomplished both," said head coach Jim Garren. "I was proud of our resolve today. We also wanted to have one good tournament to prepare for the conference championship and I feel we accomplished that too.

"The conference championship next week (April 22-24) is what we have worked all year for," Garren said. "I feel this group is getting into gear and like the direction they are heading."

LSU, ranked 10th, shot an 11-under par 277) to move up one spot and win the 15-team event with a score of 855. South Florida, ranked 20th, was 3-under on Tuesday and placed second with a score of 868. The top five was rounded out by #34 Ole Miss (870), host Mississippi State (874) and Lipscomb (878). Joining LSU, South Florida and Coastal under par for the final round was Memphis, who shot a 2-under 880 and placed ninth.

Fort jumped four spots to garner his first top 10 finish as he shot an even par round of 72 Tuesday thanks to 14 pars, two bogeys and two birdies. He finished with a 54-hole total of 219 (73-74-72) to tie for 10th. Overall, he tied for third-best in the field by playing the par 4's at even par and his 39 total pars was the third-best total.

Obecny, who an even par 72 for the second consecutive round, was just one stroke off Fort's pace. The senior moved up seven spots and tied for 12th with rounds of 76-72-72 for a 220 total. Like Fort, Obecny had birdies on his first hole and his last hole to accompany 14 pars and two bogeys. With his back-to-back 72's, Obecny has 12 rounds of par or better this season. (He had 15 such rounds in his first three seasons combined.)

Deneen had the team's best round of the day, shooting a 1-under par 71 to give the first-year player 10 rounds of par or better this season. He jumped 12 spots in the standings and finished in a tie for 16th (76-74-71+221) to give him four top 20 finishes this season. Deneen had birdies on two of his first six holes before dropping a shot on his ninth hole. He closed the round with nine pars for his 71.

Daniel Overas was the biggest mover on Tuesday. He carded CCU's third round of 72 and jumped 15 spots to tie for 34th (79-75-72+226). Overas was 3-uder at the turn, but had a double bogey and a bogey on back-to-back holes to settle for his 72.

Luis Ruiz shaved eight strokes off his second round score to shoot 75 in the final round. He tied for 62nd with a 54-hole score of 232 (74-83-75).

Coastal Carolina will travel to Miramar Beach, Fla., for the Sun Belt Championships, set for April 22-24 at Raven Golf Course at Sandestin.