Written by Austin Wells, Sports Writer

VSU tied for fifth place Tuesday at the 72 par Tunica National Golf Course as the golf team shot at 24 strokes over par at 888 at the Gulf South Conference Gold Championship.

The first two rounds took place Monday, which saw VSU finish sixth place after shooting a first round 303 and a second round 293 to finish 20 strokes over par at 596. The Blazers then shot a final round 292 to earn their fifth place tie with rival West Georgia. Lee finished first in the event shooting 2 over par at 866, but because they are in their second year of transitioning to NCAA Division II they were not eligible to win.  Second place West Florida earned the conference championship win, shooting 12 over par at 876.

As for individual performances, Chris Rogers was the highest finishing Blazer by placing seventh at 220. John Fordham also finished in the top 10, tied for ninth at 222. Michael Nutter tied for twelfth, Jake Harpe tied for seventeenth, and Davis Roche tied for thirtieth.

Although it wasn’t a winning effort for the Blazers, head coach Jared Purvis was pleased with what he saw from his team.

“It was probably the best performance we had this year,” Coach Purvis said. “It was nice to be in contention. At one point we were within four shots on the back nine [Tuesday]. I wish the results would’ve been different, but I’m proud of their effort. They hung in there the whole time and kept their heads up.

Coach Purvis also discussed the steady improvement he’s enjoyed seeing from his team throughout the season.

“Throughout the spring there’s been gradual improvement. Chris Rogers and John Fordham have had pretty consistent years, but it’s been nice to see some of the other guys like Jake Harpe, Davis Roche and even Michael Nutter at least put us in contention. We’re not there yet but we’ll be there next year in terms of contending in more tournaments.”

VSU must now wait to hear whether or not the team will advance to the NCAA South Regional.