The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men's golf team participated this past Monday and Tuesday in the Chick-Fil-A Classic in Rome, Georgia.  This was a bit of a different atmosphere for this tournament as it took place on two different courses, Coosa Country Club and Stone Bridge Golf Course.  

The Patriots played Coosa Country Club for the first round of play and shot a 291 (+3) as they had a 4 stroke lead over Spring Hill College who shot a 295 (+7).  The Patriots also had a 7 stroke lead on Costal Georgia who shot a 298 (+10).  UC played the 2nd round at Stone Bridge Golf Course and had a solid round, but were outplayed by Coastal Georgia who overcame a 7 stroke deficit to beat UC by one stroke.  The Patriots shot an even par 288 in the final round for a two day total of 579 (+3).

The Patriots were led by junior Alastair Tidcombe (Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada) who had yet another outstanding showing and captured his second individual title of the season on the first playoff hole.  Tidcombe shot a 71 (-1) in the first round and 70 (-2) in the second round for a tournament best 141 (-3).

Senior Matt Walton (Lancashire, United Kingdom) followed shooting a 1st round 70 (-2) and 2nd round 75 (+3) for a 145 (+1) total finishing tied for 7th individually.  Senior Niclas Rigbrandt (Nykoping, Sweden) shot an even par 72 (E) in round 1 and 74 (+2) in round 2 for a two day total of 146 (+2) finishing tied for 12th.  Hugo Alvarez Asorey (Oviedo, Spain) was closely behind shooting a 76 (+4) in the first round and a 71 (-1) in the second round for a total of 147 (+3) finishing tied for 14th.  Rounding out the Patriots was Vince Drahman (Noblesville, IN) shooting an opening round 74 (+2) and final round 73 (+1) for a tournament total of 147 (+3) finishing tied for 14th as well.

The Patriots also had two individuals competing.  Stuart Balcombe (Clevedon, England) shot a 1st round 76 (+4) and 2nd round 74 (+2) for a total of 150 (+6) finishing tied for 29th.  Isac Lambartsson (Njutanger, Sweden) shot an 80 (+8) in the first round and a 77 (+5) in the second round for a total of 157 (+13) finishing tied for 69th.

Assistant coach Chris McCalmont commented, "While it never feels good to lose, especially by one shot, we can take some solace from the fact that Coastal Georgia, who is currently ranked #3 in the nation by Golfstat (UC currently #4), had to shoot its best ever single round in program history to beat us.  In the end, Coastal Georgia simply outplayed us in the final round.  Our hats are off to them and their record breaking performance.  I'm proud of our guys and how they played.  I must commend the outstanding performance of Alastair Tidcombe, who continues to show why he's our team leader and one of the best players in the nation by winning his second individual title in the season both in playoffs."

The Patriots will be back in action October 15th and 16th as they travel to Savannah, GA and participate in the See More Putters NAIA.

For more information on the Patriots Men's Golf team along with other Patriot athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. 

_{Article provided by Laura Beth Harris, UC Multimedia and Athletic Services Student Assistant}