KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- Former Tusculum College golfer Chase Carroll will play in his inaugural Nationwide Tour event this weekend at the 2011 Knoxville News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot. The four-day, 72-hole event is being played at Fox Den Country Club this Thursday through Sunday.
Carroll will tee off Thursday afternoon at 2:20 p.m. on the 10th hole and will be paired with a familiar name from his collegiate career as he will be playing alongside Chris Dibble, the son of Tusculum golf coach Bob Dibble. Carroll and Dibble will also be joined by Stephen Poole.
Carroll received a sponsor's exemption into this week's $500,000 tournament, which will be a homecoming of sorts for the Knoxville native as he played at Fox Den most of his life and has even caddied for three Nationwide Tour events on his home course.
Carroll is in his second year on the eGolf Professional Tour. In his first season in 2010 on the eGolf Tour, he made the cut in seven of 13 events and earned $10,749, including a season-best 18th place finish in Concord, N.C.
In 2011, Carroll has made the cut six times in 11 eGolf Tour events. In his last three eGolf Tour tournaments, Carroll tied for 40th in Conover, N.C., (Aug. 10-13) and earned $1,358; tied for 16th in Greenwood, S.C., (Aug. 3-6) and earned $2,189; and tied for 49th in Aiken, S.C., (July 20-23) and earned $1,170.
Carroll, who has earned $11,335 on the eGolf Tour this year, made the cut and tied for 44th in the May 9-15 Hooters Tour event at River Islands Golf Club. He earned $1,243 at River Islands.
From 2005-2009, Carroll accounted for the most decorated playing career in Tusculum golf history. In 2009, he earned a spot on the Division II PING All-America Team, becoming the third golfer in school history to earn All-America distinction and the first since Tusculum became a NCAA Division II member.
Carroll established a school and South Atlantic Conference single-season record with his 72.08 stroke average, earning him SAC Player of the Year honors. The three-time All-SAC performer also posted the best scoring average in Tusculum history at 74.29, which is the second lowest in the league record book.
He captured medalist honors three times during his senior campaign (2008-09), including individual titles at the Honda Columbia Classic, Tusculum Fall Classic and the South Atlantic Conference Championship, marking the second time he has garnered SAC Tournament MVP honors in his career. The Bearden High School graduate shared Tusculum Male Athlete of the Year accolades in 2008-09.
During his stellar career, Carroll won six tournaments, which is tied for the most in school history with former All-American and Tusculum Sports Hall of Famer Todd Ricker (1992-96). He recorded 22 sub-par rounds in his career (new school record), including a TC-best 11 rounds below par this season.
Carroll was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® First Team. Carroll graduated from Tusculum in May 2009 with a 3.87 cumulative grade point average with a degree in Business Management. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete for Men's Golf for a third straight year. He is also a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District IV selection. He was named to the Dean's List, President's list, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
- TC -
