CHUCKEY, Tenn. – Sophomore Calahan Keever carded a three-round 209, while matching the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history and paced the Anderson men's golf team to a ninth-place finish, Tuesday at the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship, which was hosted by Tusculum at the Graysburg Hills Golf Club.
The Pioneers held the three-day, 54-hole event on a par-72, 6,834 yard layout.
"The guys played much better today," said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "Unfortunately, we dug too deep a hole the first two rounds to move up in the rankings. Our bright spots were Calahan (Keever) shooting a round of -5 by blistering his back nine in 28 strokes and Reece (Coleman) making birdie on two of his last three holes to shoot 69 and finish -1 for the tournament."
No. 25 Queens won its second title in three seasons on the strength of a tournament record three-round 837 – which was 10 shots better than the previous SAC Championship record set just last year by Lincoln Memorial.
The Royals finished 12 shots in front of Newberry, which overtook Lincoln Memorial and moved up one spot to claim runner-up honors by posting the third-best 54-hole score in tourney history (849) and the fourth-lowest round in tournament history with a final-round 277.
Fifth-ranked Lincoln Memorial finished third and was denied in its bid to become the first repeat title-winner since Carson-Newman won back-to-back conference crowns in 2017 and 2018. Nationally ninth-ranked Limestone claimed fourth place, with fourth-ranked Carson-Newman moving up a spot into fifth place. Tusculum and Coker shared sixth place, with Lenoir-Rhyne dropping from fourth place into eighth.
Anderson remained in the ninth slot, with Wingate, Catawba, UVA Wise and Mars Hill rounding out the 13-team field.
Limestone's Pontus Samuelsson overcame a four-stroke deficit following Monday's second round and tied the Royals' Drake Wilcox atop the individual leaderboard, with each owing 14-under-par 202s, with Samuelsson claiming individual honors following a playoff.
Queens' Ollie Smith and Newberry's Tom Bueschges finished three strokes further back in a tie for third, with LMU's Luke Harries taking home fifth place.
Keever moved up four spots after posting birdies on four of the first five holes and notching an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole. The Greenville native finished in a tie for sixth place, with teammate Reece Coleman carding five birdies during Tuesday's final round, including three on the back nine and finishing with a share of 18th place. Sophomore Daniel Coker carded three birdies on the day and finished in a tie for 50th place, alongside freshman Simon Wright. Junior Parker wrapped up the tournament in 58th place.
9 Anderson 297 296 286 879 +15
T 6 Calahan Keever 72 70 67 209 -7
T 18 Reece Coleman 73 73 69 215 -1
T 50 Simon Wright 76 74 79 229 +13
T 50 Daniel Coker 76 79 74 229 +13
58 Parker MacDonald 79 80 76 235 +19
Pos. School Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total To Par
1 Queens 277 274 286 837 -27
2 Newberry 283 288 278 849 -15
3 Lincoln Memorial 282 285 283 850 -14
4 Limestone 286 286 280 852 -12
5 Carson-Newman 288 288 277 853 -11
6 Tusculum 283 297 285 865 +1
Coker 287 294 284 865 +1
8 Lenoir-Rhyne 291 281 298 870 +6
9 Anderson 297 296 286 879 +15
10 Wingate 300 296 299 895 +31
11 Catawba 298 301 298 897 +33
12 UVA Wise 309 301 313 923 +59
13 Mars Hill 328 321 319 968 +104
NOTABLES
• Coleman third-round 69 matched his fourth-lowest round of the year.
• Keever's third-round 67 matched the seventh-lowest round in program history.
• Keever's three-round 209 matched the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
• Keever eclipsed former standout Jake Miller for the best performance by a Trojan at the SAC Championship. Miller carded a 54-hole 212, while finishing as runner-up in 2018 (Adam Sheriff posted an even-par 213 in the 2008 Conference Carolinas championship).
• Queens' three-round 837 set a tournament record.
• Newberry posted the third-best 54-hole score in tourney history (849) and matched the fourth-lowest round in tournament history with a final-round 277.
• AU's third-round 286 matched the Trojans fourth-best round of the year (out of 26 rounds).
• The Trojans' three-round 879 matched the 12th-best score in program history.
• AU's second-round 296 marked the Trojans' 12th-lowest round of the year (out of 26 rounds).
• Keever's second-round 2-under 70 marked his seventh-best round of the year.
• Queens' second-round 274 matched Lincoln Memorial (2021) for the second-lowest round in SAC Championship history.
• Queens' opening-round 277 marked the fourth-best round in SAC Championship history.
• Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman have each claimed four SAC titles, with Newberry taking home the hardware on three occasions. The Wolves were seeking their first title since 2011.
