Strong Sunday performance places Tech ninth at Blackthorn Club

The Virginia Tech men’s golf team posted a three-round total of 1-over 865 and finished in ninth place at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at Blackthorn Club on Sunday afternoon. The three-day event was played at the par 72, 7,147-yard Blackthorn Club in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Tech opened the tournament on Friday with a 301, but rebounded on Saturday with a second round 288, an improvement of 13 strokes. On Sunday, the Hokies fired a 12-under 276, the best round of the day and tied for the fourth-best of the tournament.

Mark Lawrence Jr., a junior from Richmond, Virginia, led the Hokies with a 4-under 212, finishing in a tie for 15th place. He was par-or-better in all three rounds and finished 13 strokes behind medalist Hayden Buckley of Missouri. Lawrence fired a final round 4-under 68, which was highlighted by five birdies and an eagle 3 on the par 5 fourth hole.

Connor Burgess, a freshman from Lynchburg, Virginia, tied for 20th place at 2-under 214 and Blake Fiest, a junior from Huntersville, North Carolina, tied for 43rd place at 218. Sarit Suwannarut, a sophomore from Bangkok, Thailand, finished in 70th place at 226 and Slade Pickering, a freshman from North West, South Africa, tied for 71st at 227. Pickering had an eagle 3 on the par 5 10th hole and Fiest had an eagle 3 on the par 5 eighth hole. Tech’s four counting scores on Sunday were all under par.

Ian Hildebrand, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia, played the event as an individual and tied for 59th at 223.

Penn State claimed the team title, posting a 31-under 833, nine strokes better than Kent State and 10 strokes ahead of Louisville. Missouri was fourth at 846, Coastal Carolina was fifth at 852, Tennessee was sixth at 853 and host ETSU and UNC Wilmington tied for seventh at 857, eight stroke ahead of the Hokies and 10 strokes ahead od East Carolina in 10th place. Virginia, VCU, Furman, Kansas State and Villanova rounded out the 15-team field.

Tech returns to action in two weeks, as they close out the fall season at the UNC Greensboro Grandover Collegiate. The two-day event will be played Oct. 28-29 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.