FINAL SCORES (PDF) -- TEAM | INDIVIDUAL | COMBOMUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. -- Junior Will Branham fired his second consecutive 68 on Sunday, and Morehead State registered a 292 in the final round of the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship at The Shoals. Branham closed out with a three-round 218 to tie for 11th.
Branham was the only golfer in a field of 55 to post sub-70 scores in each of the final two rounds. Morehead State placed eighth in the 54-hole event (887), but finished third when comparing the final round only and tied for third when putting together all scores over the final 36 holes (581).
Juniors Logan Hogge and Brad Newnam, plus freshmen Blake Cartwright and Zach Smith, also competed for MSU on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Hogge and Cartwright tallied final-round 73s, while Newnam shot a 78 and Smith notched a 79. All four stayed below 80 in all rounds.
"The good news is our final 36 holes were really solid," Head Coach Matthew Martin said. "The bad news is it was a 54-hole tournament. We had nice contributions up and down the line-up the final two days. Will was outstanding over the final two rounds and Logan also played very well."
Hogge placed in the top half of the field with a three-round 223, while Newnam posted a season-best 225 in his 10th tournament and Cartwright turned in a season-best 226 in his ninth event.
"Logan has consistently been one of the OVC's top five golfers throughout the school year," Martin said. "He's a guy we've been able to count on every single round and someone you always expect to see around par. I thought Brad and Blake also did some nice things in this tournament."
After opening with an uncharacteristic 82, Branham went 31 consecutive holes without a bogey and knocked down 10 birdies over his final two rounds. He finished just one stroke shy of his season best for 54 holes and one shot from registering his first top-10 performance of the school year.
"I'm very proud of Will for bouncing back after his first round," Martin said. "He converted on several birdies and put himself in an easy spot to make par on the other holes. It was pretty to watch. Will kept the ball in the fairway and finished around the green. He was focused and determined."
Eastern Kentucky won its 12th OVC trophy in men's golf with a three-round 868. Tennessee Tech, Belmont and Murray State posted 873s to tie for second, while Austin Peay was just one stroke back in fifth. The Eagles finished ahead of SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois.
UT Martin senior Brendon Caballero managed a 73 over the final 18 holes to grab medalist honors with a 211. The Fighting Joe course played at a par of 72 and yardage of 7,258. The top seven golfers were even or under par. The All-Tournament Team included the top-five finishers, plus ties.
MSU trimmed 5.3 strokes from its 2013-14 team average (305.5 to 300.2) and increased its head-to-head wins total by 50 percent (24 to 36).
"I have really enjoyed my first school year at Morehead State," Martin added. "I'm happy with the improvement our young men showed, but there's still a lot of work to be done. We had lots of quality rounds in 2014-15. Now, it's just a matter of putting together all 54 holes on a consistent basis."
