NINETY SIX, S.C. – Longwood men's golf wrapped up stroke play tied for second at the Big South Championship on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The team advances to match play for the second time in team history after finishing in the top three in stroke play for the second time in the past three seasons. Brendan Dunphy and Nick Rakes both carded top five finishes to lead Longwood. The duo were named to the Big South All-Tournament Team.
 
SCORES:
The Patriot at Grand Harbor
Ninety Six, S.C.
Par 72, 7,054 Yards
 
1. Radford: 296-286-290—872 (+8)
T2. Longwood: 293-286-296—875 (+11)
T2. Winthrop: 289-297-289—875 (+11)
4. Charleston Southern: 288-294-299—881 (+17)
5. Campbell: 296-293-300—889 (+25)
6. High Point: 293-306-291—890 (+26)
7. Gardner-Webb 299-295-297—891 (+27)
8. USC Upstate: 296-305-301—902 (+38)
9. Presbyterian: 299-309-296—904 (+40)
 
4. Brendan Dunphy: 73-71-72—216 (E)
T5. Nick Rakes: 71-71-75—217 (+1)
18. Justin LaRue: 74-74-75—223 (+7)
T21. Daniel George: 75-74-76—225 (+9)
Scott Jordan: SUB IN-70-74—144
William Hoover: 78-SUB OUT (+6)

Big South All-Championship Team (Top 5 finishers plus ties)
Bryce Corbett, Radford (Medalist)
Ben Carroll, Charleston Southern
Charlie Barr, High Point
Brendan Dunphy, Longwood
Henrik Lilja, Campbell
Nick Rakes, Longwood



HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Longwood managed the round and executed down the stretch to qualify for match play for a second time in three seasons, and Dunphy climbed up three spots in the standings.
 
The senior notched an even-par 72, and he birdied his final hole to help the Lancers tie for second. HE finished the day with four birdies and 10 pars to post the team's lowest individual score. For Dunphy, it was his second top-five finish of the season.
 
Rakes tied for fifth with a final-round 75. He had 13 total pars on the day to go with one birdie, and he carded his second top-five finish this year.
 
Jordan added a 74 in his second round of golf after coming on as a substitute following the first round for Longwood. The sophomore posted an eagle and a pair of birdies while making par on eight of his final nine holes.
 
LaRue tallied a trio of birdies for the Lancers in the final round, including the final hole. He finished stroke play in 18^th after a final round 75.
 
George also finished in the top half of the field with a final round of 76. He birdied his final hole of the day.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
"It wasn't necessarily pretty, but we did what we had to do," said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. "We knew coming down the stretch that bogeys weren't going to hurt us, so we took no chances on making anything higher. Our goal was simple: we wanted to make sure we were playing tomorrow. Now that we've done that, anything can happen."

"Playing Winthrop will be a good challenge," said Fillman. "They were the best team on the golf course today. We just have to go play golf and the rest will take care of itself."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Longwood's second-place finish in stroke play is the second-best finish all time in program history. The program's best finish was part of a three-way tie for first in 2021.
 
The Lancers also advanced to match play for the second time since joining the league, with the first coming in 2021. The Big South began match play in 2019.
 
Longwood finished as the top scoring team on Par 4s, averaging a 4.15 on those holes.
 
The Lancers led the field with 169 pars.
 
Rakes was the second-best in the field on Par 4s, averaging a 4.03 on such holes.
 
Dunphy was one of five players in the field to score an even par on Par 3s.
 
Dunpy also was tied for fifth in average score on Par 4s.
 
LaRue was Longwood's top performer on Par 5s, averaging a 4.58 on such holes.
 
Rakes was third in the field in pars with 37.
 
George was fourth in the field with 36 pars.
 
Dunpy was tied for fourth in birdies with 12.
 
Jordan tallied Longwood's lone eagle.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Match play begins on Wednesday morning. Longwood will take on Winthrop, with the winner of their match taking on the winner of Radford and Charleston Southern for the Big South Championship that afternoon.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower