ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Dax Isbell posted the fourth top-10 finish of his sophomore season today at the WGV Collegiate as the University of Tennessee at Martin golf team placed fifth in the competitive 18-team field.
The day began with the resumption of Round 2 as the Skyhawks carded a 296 (+8) before shaving seven strokes off that score in the final round (289, +1). UT Martin’s composite tally of 873 (+9) was the best score of the five Ohio Valley Conference schools in the tournament, led by 49 birdies (third-highest tally in the event).
Isbell placed seventh in the field of 108 golfers with a 213 (-3). The Cumming, Ga. native ranked fourth in the tournament with 14 birdies and also collected team-best averages in par-4 scoring (4.03, +1) and par-5 scoring (4.67, -4). He rolled in five of those birdies as part of a team-best 69 in the third and final round.
Ethan Ray was the next best finisher in the Skyhawk lineup as he finished with a 222 (+6). He equaled Isbell for most birdies in the final round (five) on his way to his second consecutive under-par round.
UT Martin’s lineup also included Grant Phillips (223, +7), Luke Caldwell (225, +9) and Jacob Uehlein (230, +14) while Bryson Morrell (245, +29) competed as an individual. Phillips ranked eighth in the tournament with a 2.92 par-3 scoring average (-1) and also led the Skyhawks with 35 pars.
Ray’s 71 in Round 2 was UT Martin’s best score as he recorded a team-best four birdies to go along with 12 pars. He was followed by matching 74’s out of Phillips (three birdies) and Caldwell (three birdies) while Isbell’s 77 also included a trio of birdies. Uehlein also tapped in three birdies on the way to an 80 while Morrell (80) added a pair of red scores on his scorecard.
After Isbell’s 69 in Round 3, the Skyhawk scoring lineup included Ray (70), Phillips (72, three birdies) and Uehlein (78, one birdie). Caldwell’s 79 with one birdie barely missed being a countable score while Morrell shot an 84 with one birdie.
UT Martin is right back at it next week when it heads to the Gulf Coast Collegiate on Monday, Feb. 26 through Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans, La.
