Men's Golf Surges to Victory at River Run Collegiate

Monday, September 24

River Run CC | Davidson, N.C.

James Madison University

River Run Collegiate

9/25/2018 5:27:00 PM | Men's Golf

@JMUMGolf JMU MG on Instagram Final Results

DAVIDSON, N.C. - The James Madison men's golf team posted the best round of the tournament on Tuesday afternoon, erasing a five-stroke deficit to take home the team title by a single stroke at the River Run Collegiate, hosted by Davidson at the par-72, 7,208-yard River Run Country Club.

The Dukes carded a 7-under 281 on Tuesday, jumping from fourth to first inside the first nine holes before holding off furious charges from second-place Furman and third-place Davidson to capture their first tournament title since the Bash at the Beach Invitational on March 7-8, 2016.

JMU's round, the lowest of any team across all three rounds of the 13-team River Run Collegiate, marked its lowest team score to par since the Dukes fired a 273 (-15) during the second round of the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Championships on April 22, 2017, a span of 39 team rounds.

Senior Ben Tucker led the way for JMU on Tuesday, carding a bogey-free 4-under 68 that saw him post four birdies across his final 11 holes as he jumped 15 spots on the leaderboard and into a tie for 13th at the 80-player tournament.

Juniors Ryan Cox and Walker Cress each posted rounds of 2-under 70 on their final loop. Cox flew out of the gates, helping JMU establish the lead early with a staggering six birdies in his opening 10 holes, while Cress sealed the win for the Dukes with his birdie on the par-3 17th and his adventurous par on the par-5 18th as part of the final group on the course.

Sophomore Ignacio Montero finished inside the top 20, closing out the JMU scoring with a 1-over 73 to finish tied for 19th, while freshman Nick Schlickenrieder posted a 5-over 77 to close the tournament in a tie for 42nd.

Playing as an individual, freshman George Heath continued his solid play in his first collegiate tournament, closing with a 4-over 76 that finished him in a tie for 19th.

QUOTING COACH FORBES
"I'm very proud of the way we played today and how we bounced back to pick up a big win. We struggled with some things in yesterday's rounds, but the guys put those behind them and posted a great score. We know we have things to work on moving forward, but we're happy to bring a win back to JMU with us."

UP NEXT
The Dukes will have a full two weeks before heading to Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W.Va., on Oct. 8-9, to take part in the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational. JMU has finished sixth against the event's strong field in each of the previous seasons.

GolfStat.com will once again provide live results for this year's edition.