TUESDAY
The Virginia Tech men's golf team shot a three-round total of 27-under 837 and finished second at the VCU Invitational on Tuesday afternoon. The two-day tournament was played at the par 72, 6,927-yard Tuckahoe Creek of the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
The Hokies held the first-round lead with an 11-under 277 and followed that with a 12-under 276 in the afternoon round. Tech shot a 4-under 284 on Tuesday and finished one stroke behind ODU.
Daniel Azallion, a freshman from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Slade Pickering, a junior from North West, South Africa led the Hokies with a 6-under 210. Tying for eighth place individually. The duo finished seven strokes behind medalist Carter Morgan of ODU. Azallion, making his collegiate debut, posted back-to-back 3-under 69s on Monday and even-par 72 on Tuesday, while Pickering shot rounds of 73-67-70 in the season-opening event.
Bradley de Beer, a sophomore from Western Cape, South Africa, tied for 19th at 3-under 213 and Mark Lawrence Jr., a redshirt senior from Richmond, Virginia, tied for 29th at even-par 216. Connor Burgess, a junior from Lynchburg, Virginia, tied for 41st at 219.
Two Hokies competed in the tournament as individuals. Tom Crow, a senior from Virginia Beach, Virginia, tied for 11th at 5-under 211 and Cameron Moore, a sophomore from Richmond, tied for 45th at 220. Crow was the top finisher among the 15 players competing as individuals. He picked up an eagle-2 on the par 4, 389-yard 16th hole in Tuesday's final round.
Old Dominion captured the team title at 28-under 836, one stroke ahead of the Hokies and four strokes ahead of JMU. Maryland was fourth at 841, host VCU was fifth at 845, Loyola (Md.) as sixth at 846 and Richmond was seventh at 858. Radford was eighth at 859, Boston College was ninth at 867, George Washington was 10th at 887 and Georgetown and Villanova tied for 11th at 889.
The Hokies return to action next week, as they compete in the OTC Collegiate Invitational. The two-day tournament, hosted by Wake Forest, will be played at the Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, N.C. Sept. 23-24.
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MONDAY
The Virginia Tech men's golf team has a two-round total of 23-under 553 and leads the VCU Invitational on Monday afternoon. The two-day tournament is being played at the par 72, 6,927-yard Tuckahoe Creek of the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
The Hokies held the first-round lead with an 11-under 277 and followed that with a 12-under 276 in the afternoon round. Tech holds a three-stroke lead over James Madison University.
Daniel Azallion, a freshman from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, leads the Hokies with a 6-under 138 and is tied for sixth place individually. He trails tri-leaders Ian Peng of VCU, Evan Brown of Loyola (Md.) and Peter Knade of Maryland by three strokes. Azallion, making his collegiate debut, posted back-to-back 3-under 69s on Monday.
Slade Pickering, a junior from North West, South Africa, is tied for 11that 4-under 140 and Connor Burgess, a junior from Lynchburg, Virginia, is tied for 20that 3-under 141. Bradley de Beer, a sophomore from Western Cape, South Africa, is tied for 29that 1-under 143 and Mark Lawrence Jr., a redshirt senior from Richmond, Virginia, is tied for 34that even-par 144.
Two Hokies are playing the event as individuals. Tom Crow, a senior from Virginia Beach, Virginia, is tied for 11that 140 and Cameron Moore, a sophomore from Richmond, is tied for 43rdat 146.
The Hokies had multiple individual highlights on Monday. Burgess got the day off to a great start as he recorded a hole-in-one on the par 3, 192-yard eighth hole, his second hole of the first round. Lawrence shot a first-round 7-under 65, tying the school record for lowest score in relation to par. Lawrence had eight birdies and a single bogey, including a stretch of six consecutive birdies on the back nine, where he posted a 29.
In the second round, both Pickering and Burgess recorded eagles; Pickering on the par 5, 559-yard 18thand Burgess on the par 5, 525-yard 5th. Crow shot a 5-under 67, his lowest career collegiate round that was bogey free with five birdies. De Beer registered seven birdies in his 3-under 69 second round.
After the Hokies and Dukes, Loyola (Md.) and host VCY are tied for third at 557, ODU is fifth at 559 Maryland is sixth at 562 Richmond is seventh at 567 and Boston College is eighth at 568 In all, 15 teams are competing in the tournament.
The final round will be play on Tuesday morning, with another 8:45 a.m. shotgun start. The Hokies will begin on the first four holes, grouped with JMU and Loyola (Md.).
This tournament marks the head coaching debut of Brian Sharp. The longtime Hokies assistant and associate head coach, was named the head coach following the retirement on Jay Hardwick at the end of last season.
