Ekert Records Second-Lowest Tournament Score in Spiders History

Thursday, March 9

St. Simons Island, GA

9:00 AM

University of Richmond

Sea Palms Invitational

Ekert Records Second-Lowest Tournament Score in Spiders History

03/11/2023 | Men's Golf

Results

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — For the second time in three days, Cole Ekert carded 5-under 66 at Sea Palms Resort to finish the 54-hole Sea Palms Invitational with at 10-under par, matching the second-lowest tournament score in program history. Ekert recorded six birdies vs one bogey Saturday, climbing into a tie for fifth among the 120 golfers on the individual leaderboard at the conclusion of play.

"Cole was very steady," said Head Coach Adam Decker. "He stayed patient and hit a lot fairways which set him up for his approach shots. This course was demanding off the tee and he handled it well. He did a great job of playing his game."

Ekert's 10-under par (203) matched a pair of 10-under tournament scores from current teammates at the VCU Shootout on Creek Course at the Country Club of Virginia: Ben Cooper in 2022 and Garrett Clark in 2021. The only lower tournament score in the history of the Richmond Spiders Men's Golf program is a 12-under (204) shot by Daniel Walker at the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee in 2013.

Ekert now has recorded a pair of top-five finishes in the last month after tying for second at the Wexford Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. in late February.

"It feels awesome to play consistently and get in the mix," said Ekert. "I felt like my game really came together round after round at Sea Palms, so it was nice to be able to play with some confidence. It was a tough week for the team overall, but I think we can all take some positives or lessons to apply to our practice before our next event."

Richmond finished the 20-team event in 14th place at 18-over par with a team score of 870. Richmond's next best finisher behind Ekert was Michael Childress, who birdied his final two holes Saturday to shoot a 1-over 73 and finished the event tied for 71st at 9-over par (222).

Lou Baker was one shot further back at 10-over par (223) in a tie for 78th, while Ben Cooper finished at 11-over par (224) in a tie for 83rd. Drew Carlin tied for 101st at 229 (+16).

The Spiders were unable to take advantage of the par 5s at Sea Palms, playing them in a combined 3-over par during the event, better than just three schools.

Playing as an individual, Garrett Clark tied for 88th at 225 (+12).

After playing twice this week, Richmond will be off the next three weeks before resuming competition at the Cutter Creek Intercollegiate in Snow Hill, N.C. on March 31.