Nick Wolf, a junior on the UTM golf team, captured his first career individual medalist victory today at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate.
Coming into the day with a two-shot lead, Wolf carded a 69 in Round 3 for an overall tally of 204 (-12), fending off runner-up Jake Mynatt (205, -11) from Carson-Newman. Wolf’s previous best collegiate finish was second place in the TVA Community Credit Union Invitational (Oct. 21-22, 2019) and at the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate (April 9-10, 2018).
“I’m ecstatic for Nick,” Skyhawk head coach Austin Swafford said. “He’s worked his tail off and deserves this so much. He’s a great player and I see more of these in his future.”
It took more than 54 holes to determine a victor today at the Sevierville Golf Club River Course as UTM and Morehead State were sent into an extended playoff. After a back-and-forth day filled with a lot of dramatic momentum swings, the Skyhawks entered the final hole of regulation facing a one-stroke deficit. Tate Chumley then came through for an eagle on the par-5, 538-yard Hole No. 18 while the remainder of UTM’s scoring lineup tallied a pair of pars and a bogey to force a playoff with its fellow OVC rival.
Both sides matched each other on the first playoff hole but the Eagles were able to break the tie on the second playoff hole.
Overall, the Skyhawks shot an 851 (-13) for the tournament, which includes a 285 (-3) today. Morehead State’s identical 851 followed while host Tennessee Tech tallied the best score of the day (282, -6) on the way to a third-place finish with a final score of 853 (-11).
“What a great tournament,” Swafford said. “Having a chance to win is all you can ask for and we’ve done that two weeks in a row. Congratulations to Morehead State on their win and to Tennessee Tech for hosting this great event.”
Wolf and Jack Story (72, E) shared the team lead with six birdies in Round 3. Wolf played the final 14 holes of the day at 4-under while five of Story’s birdies came on the back-nine. Chumley (71, -1) had the clutch eagle and two birdies while Ross Redmont (73, +1) and Bryson Morrell (76, +4) each tapped in a pair of birdies.
Chumley finished the event in a tie for seventh place with a 213 (-3), marking the eighth top-10 finish in the career of the junior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee Redmont completed his tournament with a score of 220 (+4) and was followed by Morrell’s 222 (+6) and Story’s 223 (+7).
UTM wrapped up the tournament with the most birdies (53) and eagles (three) in the field. Redmont paced the field in par-3 scoring (2.67, -4), Wolf led the tournament in par-4 scoring (3.77, -7) and Chumley’s 4.33 (-8) scoring average on par-5’s ranked atop the 77-man field.
The Skyhawks return to action on March 22-23 when they head to Springfield, Missouri, for the Twin Oaks Intercollegiate, hosted by Missouri State.
