The play of BJ Knox and Elijah McCarty proved to be critical for Shawnee State, as the Bears greatly improved their 10th place finish from 2019 at the Bill Bockwitz Spring Arbor Classic with a fourth-place finish Monday evening in Jackson, Mich at the Grande Golf Course.
Knox, who finished with a one-under 71 to sit in second place after the first 18 holes of competition, notched a 76 during the second half of the event to place in a tie for ninth overall by scoring a 147. McCarty, meanwhile, recovered from a six-over 78 over the first 18 holes to accomplish Knox's first round score -- a 71 -- during his final 18 holes of play, and finished with a 149 to obtain an 11th place finish in the 68-player field.
Behind the top scoring duo, Shawnee State's Jordan Hughes posted 78s in each of his 18-hole rounds Monday to claim a tie for 24th overall on the leaderboard with his 156, while Steven Zimmerman shot a 78 on his first 18 holes and a 79 in his second 18-hole showing to finish one stroke off of Hughes, finishing in a tie for 28th with a 157.
DJ Graham, who shot an 88 in the opening round of competition, rebounded nicely for the Bears by shooting a two-over 74 in his second 18-hole session, moving him up the ladder to a tie for 42nd overall.
As a team, Shawnee State's 305 in the first round and 299 in the second 18-hole session allowed SSU to finish with a team score of 604. The Bears edged out Rio Grande by four strokes as a result for the spot and trailed host Spring Arbor by only two strokes for third overall. Marian (Ind.)'s 583 and Indiana Wesleyan's 596 allowed the Hoosier-based institutions to claim the first pair of positions on the team leaderboard.
Shawnee State's 604 at Spring Arbor was a 17-stroke improvement over SSU's first pair of rounds at the Bill Bockwitz Classic last season, when the Bears posted a 621 over the opening pair of rounds. In the three-round, two day tournament last year, SSU finished with a overall combined stroke of 921.
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