The Navy men's golf team shot two of its lowest rounds in program history to place sixth at the 16-team, 54-hole Phoenix Invitational played Monday and Tuesday at the par-71 Alamance Country Club in Burlington, N.C. Navy was one of seven teams to cover the two-day invitational under par, posting a 2-under par 850 (290-281-279).

Sorting Out The Finish
Thanks in large part to individual medalist Jake Scruggs, who grabbed medalist honors by shooting a remarkable 19-under par 194 (68-61-65), Gardner-Webb won the team title by one stroke over Morehead State. Gardner-Webb was tied for seventh after the opening round, but shot a 15-under par in the second round to vault to the top of the leader board. It went on to card the third-lowest round on Tuesday to post an 833 (287-269-277) and hold off a rallying Morehead State squad that shot an 834 (280-275-279).

Appalachian State fell in at third with a 9-under par 843 (284-283-276), followed by Elon at 845 (285-280-280) and Drexel (280-275-292) to round out the top five.

Navy, who improved in each of its three rounds (290-281-279) in the tournament, finished three strokes behind Drexel in the final standings. The Mids shot a 279 in the final round which is tied as the fourth-lowest one-day, four score total, while their second-round 281 stands as the sixth lowest in school history.

The Mids have now shot four of the lowest six scores in program history this fall, as they shattered the record with rounds of 274 and 277 to win The Doc Gimmler in mid-September.


Navy Notes
Charlie Musto (Jr / Sterling, Va.) paved the way for the Mids with his 4-under par 209 to tie for 14th. The 2018 Patriot League Player of the Year shot bookend par marks with a 67 in between.

Ward Wilkinson (Jr / Ashland, Va.) shot a bogey-free final round as he pushed up in the standings with his 4-under par 67. The junior covered the three-round tournament with a 2-under par 211 to take 24th.

Team captain Thomas Garbee (Sr / Asheville, N.C.) tied for 33rd with a 1-over par 214 (72-72-70), followed by Chad Deegan (So / Costa Mesa, Calif.) in 44th with a 3-over par 216 (75-70-71) and Nicholas Klock (So / Moraga, Calif.) in 72nd with a 9-over par 222 (77-74-71). Garbee, meanwhile, made two eagles over the course of the tournament and Chad Deegan had one.

Up Next
The Midshipmen return to action on Friday when they make the trip to the Lehigh Valley to play in the 36-hole Lehigh Invitational held at the Saucon Valley Country Club. Navy placed third in last year's Lehigh Invitational where they shot a 33-over par 609, just four strokes behind the winner, Iona.

### Go Navy ###