Troy Golf posts program record in tournament win

Published 10:19 am Friday, March 31, 2023

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The Troy University men’s golf team picked up their first tournament win of the season on Wednesday, by dominating the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate Tournament.

The team tied a program record by shooting 24-under par enroute to dominating the tournament with a 22-shot win. That win gave the Trojans their first tournament win of the season and also qualified them for the 2024 Augusta/Haskins Award Invitational, one of the most prestigious collegiate tournaments in the country.

Troy shot 12-under par in the first day of the tournament and posted an 11-under par in the final round. The Trojans finished off the week with a combined 57 birdies and 183 pars.

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Troy’s Brantley Scott finished in second place individually with 15 birdies , while Jason Quinlan came in with 14 birdies and Jake Springer added 12.

A total of four Trojans finished in the top nine with Springer coming in at 8-under, just one shot off from taking medalist. He shot 67 in the final round, a career best, and totaled 208 for the tournament.

Troy’s win at the Golfweek Tournament comes after finishing second at Auburn’s Tiger Invitational and fourth at Florida State’s Seminole Intercollegiate Tournament earlier this month.

By qualifying for next year’s Augusta/Hawkins Award Invitational, Troy joins Pepperdine, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Illinois as the only teams to qualify for the tournament thus far.

The good news didn’t end there for the Trojans this week, either, as one of the top junior college (JUCO) golfers in the country signed with Troy. Odessa College’s Laurenz Kubin, a JUCO All-American, helped guide his school to a runner-up finish in last year’s NJCAA National Championship. The Austrian native has also won an U18 and U21 National Title in his home country and has competed on the European Tour twice.

“Laurenz is one of the best junior college players in the country,” Troy Golf Coach Forrest Shchultz said. “He has the ability to go low, performs well in major events and his amateur career is filled with wins worldwide.

“Our culture and practice facilities are going to provide Laurenz with a competitive environment and place where he can continue to grow his game. I am excited to work with him next fall and see what he will accomplish during his time at Troy.”

The Trojans head to Mississippi for tournament action next week, hosted by the SEC’s Mississippi State.

Troy freshman Katelynn Altese had a big week for the women’s team. (Photo courtesy of Troy University Athletics)

The Troy women’s team is also finding success this season, finishing third at the GSU Invitational in Georgia this week. Freshman Katelynn Altese earned a 1-under 71 in the final round, while fellow freshman Laura Fangmeyer took ninth place overall in the tournament.

After entering the final round in fourth place, Troy rallied with a 2-over 290 as a team in the final round to jump up to third place in the 16-team field. Lipscomb came in first overall in the tournament.

Fangmeyer shot a 217 in the tournament, while ShaeLee Scarberry shot 221 to finish No. 14 overall.

Just like the men’s team, the women’s team also received some more good news this week when sophomore Alyssa Mercado was selected to compete in the PGA Works Championship May 8-10 in Birmingham.

The PGA Works Championship is considered, “the most culturally significant championship in college golf” and annually hosts golfers enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving schools and other minority-serving schools.

Mercado, a native of Lake Mary, Fla., is in her second year at Troy after transferring from North Florida. She currently ranks third on the team with a 3.33 score vs. par after finishing second on the team last season.