MONROE, N.C. --- Tusculum's Brad Hawkins shot an eight-under par 208 to win the 16th annual J. Ralph Hargett Memorial Invitational which was held at the Monroe Country Club. The Pioneers posted a final round 294 to finish the two-day, 54-hole tournament score of 878 and finished in 11th place in the 17-team field.
Hawkins fired a one-over par 73 in Monday's final round to capture his third medalist honor of the season and fifth of his Tusculum career. Hawkins won by one shot over runner-up Eli Crumley of Young Harris, who finished with 209 (-7), including a final round 68.
Lenoir-Rhyne put together the round of the tournament as the Bears shot a 10-under par team score of 278 to finish with 851 and edge runner-up Young Harris by a single stroke (852). Lincoln Memorial finished third with 855, while host Wingate carded 858 to finish in fourth place. Mars Hill finished fifth with 867, Queens was sixth at 868 and Newberry and Belmont each fired 871 to tie for seventh place.
Pfeiffer finished ninth with 872, followed by Brevard (874), Tusculum, Coker (892), Belmont Abbey B (903), Findlay (909), Walters State (918), Catawba (941) and Benedict.
Tusculum senior Nick Forsberg matched the lowest round of the final day with his four-under par 68. Forsberg finished in a three-way tie for seventh place with four-under par 212.
Junior Taylor Smith tied for 48th place with his 54-hole total 224, including Monday's final round 73. Preston Tucker finished 74th with 234, while Chris Hutson shot 243 to tie for 80th place.
Hawkins' three tournament titles this year ties a Tusculum single-season record for most wins in a campaign. Todd Ricker won three titles during the 1995-96 season, while Chase Carroll won medalist honors three times in the 2008-09 campaign.
This week, Hawkins established a new single-season record for most rounds under par. The Knoxville, Tennessee senior has shot under par 12 times this year, breaking the previous mark of 11 set by Carroll during the 2008-09 season. Hawkins has shot under par 20 times in his career, just two rounds shy of Carroll's school record 22.
The Pioneers return to action next Monday as they play in the Bluefield State Invitational. The one-day, 36-hole event will be held at Fincastle Country Club.
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Team Scores
Pl Team 1st 2nd 3rd TOT
1 Lenoir-Rhyne 289 284 278 851
2 Young Harris 281 285 286 852
3 Lincoln Memorial 282 288 285 855
4 Wingate 282 285 291 858
5 Mars Hill 292 280 295 867
6 Queens (N.C.) 295 284 290 869
7 Newberry 285 296 290 871
Belmont Abbey 296 287 288 871
9 Pfeiffer 292 287 293 872
10 Brevard 285 288 301 874
11 TUSCULUM 291 293 294 878
12 Coker 297 297 298 892
13 Belmont Abbey B 303 304 296 903
14 Findlay 298 307 304 909
15 Walters State 307 304 307 918
16 Catawba 311 304 326 941
17 Benedict 308 311 326 945
Tusculum Individual Scores
Pl Player 1st 2nd 3rd TOT
1 Brad Hawkins 67 68 73 208
T7 Nick Forsberg 71 73 68 212
T48 Taylor Smith 75 76 73 224
74 Preston Tucker 78 76 80 234
T80 Chris Hutson 80 81 82 243
