By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
JACKSON, Tenn. – For the second time in three rounds, the University of Tennessee at Martin golf team was responsible for the best score in the field as the Skyhawks completed a resounding wire-to-wire tournament victory at the Grover Page Classic today.
Entering the day with a four-shot advantage atop the 14-team leaderboard, UT Martin carded a 284 (-4) to finish eight strokes clear of runners-up Missouri State and SIUE. In the process, the Skyhawks’ cumulative score of 841 (-23) was the best in the 20-year history of the Grover Page Classic tournament, topping North Alabama’s 843 (-21) from the 2022 event.
Collectively, UT Martin led the tournament field in eagles (eight) and par-4 scoring (4.05, +8) while charting plenty of red on the scorecard with 59 birdies.
“I am so proud of the team – it’s always good to play well at your home tournament,” Skyhawk head coach Austin Swafford said. “Our lead got within three strokes down the stretch because of some great play from other teams but our guys hung in there and played well on the final few holes. We’ll look to take this week’s result and build off it for the rest of the season.”
A trio of UT Martin representatives finished in the top-10 of the 93-man Grover Page Classic leaderboard, each claiming the best finish of their collegiate careers. Redshirt junior Jonathan Xoinis shot a 208 (-8) – tied with current teammate Bryson Morrell for the best Grover Page Classic performance in school history – behind a 3.93 par-4 scoring average that led all Skyhawks. Jacob Uehlein placed fourth with a 209 (-7) as the graduate third in the entire tournament with a 2.92 par-3 scoring average. Rounding out UT Martin’s top-10 finishers was sophomore Dax Isbell (210, -6), who placed ninth after leading the field in eagles (three) and par-5 scoring average (4.08) to go along with a team-high 14 birdies.
“To have three guys inside the top-10 of a strong field like this, that’s saying something,” Swafford said. “They played solid, clean golf this week, which is a result of putting in a lot of hard work and time since the season began.”
Xoinis’ 70 with a team-high five birdies paced the Skyhawks in Round 3 today while Isbell (four birdies) and Uehlein (three birdies) each carded 71’s. Grant Phillips’ even-par performance with four birdies was the team’s fourth countable score while Luke Caldwell (73, four birdies) was UT Martin’s fifth member of the lineup.
Competing as an individual, Morrell equaled Xoinis with a team-best five birdies on the way to a 71 today. That led Morrell to an 11th-place finish with a 211 (-5) – which was his fourth career top-12 showing at the Grover Page Classic. The graduate out of Knoxville, Tenn. topped the squad with 35 pars and ranked third in the tournament in par-3 scoring (2.92, -1).
The Skyhawk individuals today also included Ethan Ray (74, two birdies), Jackson Twerdahl (75, three birdies) and Garrett Chumley (75, three birdies).
For the tournament, Phillips compiled a 220 (+4) and was followed by Ray (223, +7), Caldwell (224, +8), Twerdahl (226, +10 with a team-best 35 pars) and Chumley (228, +12).
UT Martin travels to Gateway National in Madison, Ill. for its next tournament, accepting an invitation to play in the SIUE Dolenc Invitational on Monday, Sept. 25 through Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
