Men's Golf Grabs Runner-Up at UNCG Martin Downs Collegiate

Friday, February 14

Martin Downs GC | Palm City, Fla.

James Madison University

UNCG Martin Downs Collegiate

Photo by: Tim Cowie/Tim Cowie Photography

Men's Golf Grabs Runner-Up at UNCG Martin Downs Collegiate

2/16/2020 6:07:00 PM | Men's Golf

@JMUMGolf JMU MG on Instagram Final Results

PALM CITY, Fla. - Sophomore George Heath picked up his third top-five finish of the season and the James Madison men's golf team set a new 54-hole record on Sunday afternoon, as the Dukes closed out play at the UNCG Martin Downs Collegiate, hosted at the par-72, 6,802-yard Osprey Course at Martin Downs Golf Club.

The Dukes fired a final-round 282 (-6) in windy conditions on Sunday, closing out their first event of the spring at 828 (-36) and shattering the previous 54-hole program record of 840 (-24), set earlier this season at the VCU Invitational. The performance was tied for the 14-team field's lowest of the day with eventual team champion and host UNCG (-41) as JMU took runner-up honors.

Heath continued his stellar play from the weekend to climb another spot on the leaderboard, carding a final-round 69 (-3) - the second-lowest in the 94-player field for the second straight day - to finish in sole possession of third place at 205 (-11) for the weekend.

The weekend performance, Heath's collegiate best, was tied for the fifth-lowest 54-hole score to-par in program history and marked his third top-five finish of the year and his fourth in seven events dating back to last year's Colonial Athletic Association Championships.

Senior Walker Cress and freshman Neal Shipley joined Heath in the top 10 after matching final rounds of even-par 72 on Sunday. Cress climbed into sole possession of seventh place with the help of four birdies, while Shipley carded a clean round with 14 pars to pick up his second top-10 in the last three events.

Sophomore Nick Schlickenrieder vaulted up the leaderboard with a final-round 69 (-3) of his own, climbing 19 spots into a tie for 19th at 214 (-2), while junior Ignacio Montero closed out the JMU lineup in a tie for 15th at 212 (-4, 69-68-75).

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Playing as an individual, sophomore Ignacio De Pineda closed out a strong weekend with his third round of par-or-better, shooting a 1-under 71 that tied him for 11th at 211 (-5). Senior Ryan Cox finished tied for 32nd at 219 (+3) in his first action of the year.

Senior Quinn Tardif matched Cox with a final-round 75 (+3) to finish tied for 47th at 222 (+6), while freshman Yuvraj Joshi dropped four strokes from his second round to shoot a 77 (+5) on Sunday that pushed him into a tie for 77th.

QUOTING COACH FORBES
"We battled today in tougher conditions and were able to put up a solid number. We weren't able to chase down UNCG, but this was an event that showed us what we can work on to start the spring as we move into the heart of a really challenging schedule before the conference tournament."

UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back in action later this week, when they travel to Golden Eagle Country Club in Tallahassee, Fla. to take part in the Seminole Intercollegiate. The first two rounds are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22, with the final round taking place the following day.