Huntington, W.Va. – Longwood men's golf was steady in the final round of the Joe Feaganes Invitational, and the Lancers finished seventh in a tight race in the 12-team field. The four teams between fourth and seventh were separated by four strokes.
 
Justin LaRue led the way with his second straight top 10 finish to start the 2023-24 campaign, and Nick Rakes added a top 10 finish of his own in the 76 player field..
 
RESULTS:
Guyan Golf & Country Club
Huntington, W. Va.
Par 71, 6,523 Yards
 
Team
7. Longwood: 279-283-288—850 (-2)
 
Individual
T7. Justin LaRue: 67-68-73—208 (-5)
T10. Nick Rakes: 70-68-71—209 (-4)
T34. Zane Moore: 71-73-72—216 (+3)
T53. David LaFreniere: 71-78-72—221 (+8)
T70. *Logan Hooper: 79-75-75—229 (+16)
74. Cameron Hardison: 76-74-82—232 (+19)
*Competed as an individual
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
On a day when low scores were tough to come by, the Lancers had Nick Rakes shoot an even par.
 
Rakes posted a 71 to finish at four under, good for a tie for tenth. He stayed in a tie for 10^th, and he finished tied for second in the field with 15 birdies through the tournament.
 
Moore and David LaFreniere both shot matching 72's, good for one over, on the day. For Moore, it helped him climb up to a tie for 31^st. He did so by remaining incredibly consistent throughout the tournament. The lefty tied for the tournament lead with 41 pars.
 
LaFreniere closed his Longwood debut with a strong final round. He moved up to a tie for 53^rd after posting three birdies in his final 18 holes.
 
Logan Hooper and Cameron Hardison rounded out the scores, with Hooper sliding up a few spots with a final round 75 while Hardison fired an 82 in the final round.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"Despite the way it turned out in the end, I thought we did a lot of the things we wanted to do through probably 12 or 13 holes," said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. "Our issues came late in the round. We really got outplayed over the closing holes, which is very disappointing. For some reason, we went away from what we talked about last night, and, quite frankly, what was working for us early, and played some very timid shots coming home. It almost seemed that we went into 'protect-mode', but there was really nothing to protect. That's certainly something we'll have to correct before we go again."
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Lancers will have four individuals compete at The Griffin Invitational at the Country Club of Petersburg next week, September 18-19. Following that, the team competes in the Virtues Intercollegiate, hosted by Miami University of Ohio, on Monday and Tuesday, September 25-26.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower