FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The No. 12 Tennessee men’s golf team wrapped up the Mason Rudolph Championship on Sunday at the Vanderbilt Legends Course, claiming a third place finish out of 15 teams at 5-under-par.
The Vols posted a 3-over-par 287 in the final round to secure the team’s fourth top three finish of the season. No. 1 Auburn clinched the team title with a dominant final tally of 26-under-par. No. 11 Vanderbilt closed as the runner-up at 9-under-par, four strokes ahead of Tennessee. No. 13 Ole Miss and Mississippi State rounded out an all-SEC top five at 1-under-par and even par, respectively.
Chase Kyes closed out an impressive weekend as the Vols’ low scorer on Sunday and in the tournament overall. The freshman carded a 1-under-par 70, his third consecutive round under par, in round three to close the event at 4-under-par. Kyes began the day on fire, going 3-under-par on the front nine, before recovering from back-nine bogey trouble with a tap-in birdie at hole No. 18. He finished tied for fifth place in the 81-golfer field, his second career top five finish.
Bruce Murphy wrapped up a top ten showing with a 1-over-par 72 in round three. The redshirt junior from Atlanta went 1-under-par on the back nine to close the tournament at 2-under-par overall. Murphy’s tenth place finish is the sixth top ten placement of his collegiate career.
Matching Murphy with a 1-over-par 72 in round three was Josh Hill. The senior tallied two birdies to three bogeys on the day as he concluded the weekend at even-par. With a tie for 13th place, Hill rounds out three Volunteers to earn top 15 honors at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
A strong finish to the round saw Luke Smith post Tennessee’s final countable team score on Sunday. After struggles early in the round, the freshman ended the day with three consecutive birdies to close at 2-over-par for the day and 2-over-par for the tournament. Smith tied for 22nd place to earn his third top 25 finish of the season.
Competing as an individual this weekend, Reed Lotter posted his best score of the tournament on Sunday, carding a 1-under-par 70 thanks to three birdies and just two bogeys. At 7-over-par overall, the senior finished tied for 40th place.
Next up for Tennessee, the Vols will watch Jackson Herrington take the biggest stage in golf at the 89th edition of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club this week. As a team, Tennessee will return to action shortly after at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, set for April 14 and 15 at Birdwood Golf Course in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Mason Rudolph Championship Standings (Final)
1. Auburn (-26)
2. Vanderbilt (-9)
3. Tennessee (-5)
4. Ole Miss (-1)
5. Mississippi State (E)
6. Charlotte (+2)
7. Middle Tennessee (+12)
8. NC State (+15)
9. Furman (+16)
10. Kentucky (+23)
11. Vanderbilt (B) (+26)
12. Princeton (+29)
13. Northern Illinois (+34)
14. Western Kentucky (+36)
15. Ball State (+70)
Tennessee Results (Final)
T-5. Chase Kyes: 70-69-70 = 209 (-4)
10. Bruce Murphy: 69-70-72 = 211 (-2)
T-13. Josh Hill: 72-69-72 = 213 (E)
T-22. Luke Smith: 70-72-73 = 215 (+2)
T-40. Reed Lotter (i): 78-72-70 = 220 (+7)
T-44. Lance Simpson: 71-75-75 = 221 (+8)
