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After a disappointing finish to round two that left them seven shots out of the top five, Longwood men’s golf had its work cut out for it in round three. The guys responded.

Nick Rakes got the team off to a hot start, and Justin LaRue roared into the finish. LaRue climbed up 25 spots in the standings to crack the top 10, and Rakes finished tied for 11th.

Longwood shot up three spots in the standings to tie for fifth with Radford in the team’s final tournament of the fall. This was held at Powells Point, North Carolina, at the Kilmarlic Golf Club. 

Individual

T7. Justin LaRue: 72-77-67—216 (+3)

T11. Nick Rakes: 71-75-71—217 (+4)

T25. Zane Moore: 72-75-75—222 (+9)

T39. Scott Jordan: 78-74-74—225 (+13)

T62. Matthew Lyons: 79-78-74—74 (+18)

How It Happened

While LaRue and Rakes had the best scores of the team, it was a full team effort that helped Longwood make up its seven shot deficit to start the day.

The Lancers posted the fourth-best score of the day, with their team score of 286 serving as the fifth best overall round of the entire tournament among the 15 teams. In addition, the team was second in the field in pars (162).

LaRue capped off a strong fall that has seen him finish in the top seven in all five tournaments, and he was one shot off his best round of the fall with a 67.

He shook off a slow start to the first four holes and posted a par or better on the final 14 holes. During that run, he made five birdies, with four coming in his final nine holes of the day. That effort vaulted him from 32nd to a tie for seventh, and his 67 tied for the low round among the 76-player field for the entire tournament.

Meanwhile, Rakes got off to a wicked hot start with five birdies in his first nine holes. He finished the day at an even-par 71 which kept him tied for 11th. He led Longwood in the tournament with 11 birdies.

Zane Moore notched a top 25 finish as well with a final round 75. It was his first top 25 finish of the year.

Scott Jordan climbed a pair of spots with a final round of 74, and Matthew Lyons matched him with a 74. Lyons posted an eagle, one of two on the week for the Lancers.

What They Said

“I thought we played a lot of very good golf for a really long time today,” said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. “It definitely had the makings of a pretty special round for most of the day. We just got in our own way over the closing holes and didn’t finish the way we would have liked.”

“I was happy to see Justin bounce back,” Fillman added about the junior. “He had a heck of a fall season, so for him to close strongly is appropriate. Now we can take some time to focus on the areas where we need to get better, which we will do starting next week, and make sure we’re ready to go in February.”

Next for Longwood men’s golf

The fall season is complete for Longwood. They will tee off in the spring to begin the chase for a Big South Championship.