October 24, 2023
Cobras Rally to Finish 4th in National Field
Derek McGlaughlin shined in a talented field.
Led by junior Derek McGlaughlin's round of 1-under 70, the Coker Men's Golf Team rallied to a fourth-place finish among 16 nationally ranked teams in the Copperhead Invitational at Innisbrook Resort on Tuesday afternoon.
McGlaughlin rattled in five birdies on the 7209-yard layout and played his last eight holes in four under par to help the Cobras climb from a tie for sixth after 36 holes to fourth. The Cobras had four players finish in the top 20 in the 90-player field. Senior Jonathan Hallinger finished tied for 14th with rounds of 70-72-73--215(+2); McGlaughlin came in T16 with 74-72-70--216(+3); and Seniors Caleb Tidd 72-71-74--217 and Killian Ryan 71-73-73--217 finished T19 with a total score of +4. Senior Aaron Teece bounced back after shooting 80-76 on Monday with a two-over-par 73 on Tuesday.
Lee University won the team title at 282-282-289--853(+1), followed by host West Flordia at 280-286-289--855(+3). Oklahoma Christian took third at 285-296-281--862(+10), followed by the Cobras at 287-289-289--864(+12). Lee, West Florida, and Coker were the only teams to break 290 in all three rounds. Lee's Oliver Lewis-Perkins was the tournament medalist with rounds of 67-69-66--202(-11).
"This was a superb performance by our guys in what was arguably the strongest national field of the fall," Coker Head Coach John Hackney said. "We really navigated our way around the course in fine fashion all three rounds. I told the guys that my favorite stat of the week was that we did not score over a bogey among our four counting scores during the 54-hole event. That is quite a feat on a course that annually hosts the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship."
Coker notched 14 birdies in Tuesday's round. Other than McGlaughlin, Tidd had four birdies, Teece had three, and Ryan and Hallinger posted one a piece. For the tournament, Cobras finished second overall in pars with 173, second in par-3 scoring at +8, third in par-4 scoring at +26.
"We were edged this week by three Top 10 teams, but took down seven teams in the Top 25," Coach Hackney said. "I believe our veteran team is one of the best, and the guys proved that this fall. We can't wait to make a deep postseason run come springtime!"
The Cobras recorded a fifth-place in the National Preview in Orlando, took runner-up at the Grffin Invitational in Virginia, tied for fifth at the Cateechee Invitational, and finished the fall with a fourth place this week.