Longwood University Athletics

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Battling a tough course, unrelenting heat and a competitive field separated by mere strokes, Longwood men's golf found a way to stay at the top. 
 
Behind a runner-up finish from junior Brendan Dunphy and a top-10 performance by sophomore Nick Rakes, the Lancers placed fourth at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational, marking their highest finish at the event since becoming an annual participant in 2014.
 
Dunphy entered the day tied for fifth place after finishing three-under through the first two rounds Monday and put in another strong effort in Tuesday's final round to climb three spots into a tie for second place alongside Marshall's Tyler Jones. His 70-69-70—209 (-4) trailed only tournament champion Tyler Goecke's 68-69-68—205 (-8) and bested 10 other Marshall golfers on their own home course.
 
The three-under was Dunphy's best three-round score of his Longwood career, while all three of his individual rounds were among his five lowest in his three years as a Lancer. He tore through the par-71, 6,523-yard course in his final round, carding four birdies and shooting par or lower on all but two holes.
 
Meanwhile, Rakes – who was Longwood's top finisher at the season-opening EKU Intercollegiate on Sept. 3-4 in Richmond, Ky. – mounted a strong final round of his own, following his second-round 68 Monday with a 72 Tuesday to finish 72-68-72—212 (-1) for his first career collegiate round under par. That was good enough for a sixth-place finish in the 96-player field and made him one of only nine to shoot under par at the tournament.
 
"While we had some guys who didn't have their best stuff today, we also had a bunch of guys who played their tails off all day," said Longwood head coach Kevin Fillman. "Sure, we made some mistakes and executed some poor shots, but we played hard down to the very last shot.
 
"This experience will be big for us moving forward. I've never seen Guyan play more difficult than it did today. A golf course plays hard when it's firm and bouncy, and they had the greens rock hard today. To hang in there and play the way we did will definitely serve us well down the road. Outside of a couple mistakes, Brendan played extremely well all weekend. To post an under-par round today is pretty impressive, especially considering how much of a battle it was every shot out there."
 
Following Dunphy and Rakes for the Lancers were freshman Scott Jordan, who also logged a top-25 result with a 70-75-73—218 (+5), which put him in a tie for 24th. Daniel George finished tied for 60th at 74-74-77—225 (+12), while Ryan Hammer and Christian Michael rounded out the Longwood contingent with a 77-75-77-229 (+16) and a 77-79-75—231 (+8), respectively.
 
The Lancers will now get nearly two weeks to prepare for their next outing, which will send them to the Radnor Valley Country Club in Wayne, Pa., for the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Villanova on Sept. 27-28.
 
Joe Feaganes Marshall Invite
Sept. 14, 2021 (Day 2 of 2)
Huntington, W.Va. (Guyan Golf & Country Club)
Par 71 (6,523 Yards)
 
Team Results (Final)
1. Marshall (273-285-287—845, -7)
2. Wright State (282-290-281—853, +1)
3. Dayton (280-292-287—859, +7)
4. Longwood (286-286-290—862, +10
5. IPFW (296-293-277—866, +14)
6. Belmont (288-288-293—869, +17)
T-7. Bowling Green State (287-294-294—875, +23)
T-7. Youngstown State (292-288-295—875, +23)
9. Morehead State (287-291-300—878, +26)
10. Mount St. Mary's (295-298-296—889, +37)
11. Stetson (289-300-301—890, +38)
12. Northern Kentucky (285-293-313—891, +29)
13. Cleveland State (294-299
14. Robert Morris (292-304-298—894, +42)
15. Xavier (299-304-303—906, +54)
 
Longwood Individual Results (96 participants)
T-2. Brendan Dunphy (70-69-70—209, -4)
T-6. Nick Rakes (72-68-72—212, -1)
T-24. Scott Jordan (70-75-73—218, +5)
T-60. Daniel George (74-74-77—225, +12)
T-76. Ryan Hammer (77-75-77—229, +16)
T-81. Christian Michael (77-79-75—231, +18)
 
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