Armstrong wins second straight ASUN golf championship
Lipscomb Athletics |
Just three days after winning his third consecutive ASUN Golfer of the Year honor, Lipscomb’s Dawson Armstrong etched his name Tuesday, April 24, as one of the greatest golfers in program and conference history by securing his second straight individual medalist honor at the ASUN Conference Men’s Golf Championship on The Legends Course at the Chateau Elan.
“It sure has been a lot of fun to get to play for Lipscomb,” Armstrong said. “It’s been a pleasure to get to play under coach (Will) Brewer. He and our assistant coach Ben Pellicani have given me the best opportunity to be the best golfer I can be in the four years that I have been here.
“Our team has bought into the program coach Brewer laid out for us and we’ve grown from it.”
Finishing at -7 with a two-round total of 135 (69-66), Armstrong is the first golfer in league history to win back-to-back medalist since Jacksonville’s Duncan Stewart in 2005-06.
The senior helped Lipscomb post back-to-back runner-up finishes in the team standings by shooting a -4, 66 in the final round. Trailing teammate Eric Ansett by one stroke entering the final round of play, Armstrong closed the gap with a pair of birdies on the front nine to shoot 34 going out.
“I thought I started smooth by hitting the shots I wanted to hit and give me chances for birdies early,” Armstrong said.
He grabbed his first lead of the day with a birdie on No. 11 to get him to three-under for the round after sticking a wedge at the pin from 130 yards out. Making up for a bogey on the 13th, the Brentwood, Tennessee native holed out from the fringe on the shortened, 344-yard, 16th for an eagle and to put him three shots clear of the field.
He closed out his ASUN Championship career with his fourth birdie on No. 18 to win the medalist award by three strokes.
Seeking their first ASUN Title in program history, the Purple and Gold seemed poised to do so on Tuesday. Trailing North Florida by one entering the afternoon, the Bisons and Ospreys traded lead after lead, before it was UNF who eventually escaped with a five-shot victory in Braselton, Georgia.
Ansett earned All-Tournament honors for Lipscomb behind a -2, 140 (68-72) to finish tied for third. After shooting -4 in the opening round with five birdies, the senior Ansett drained just two birdies on Tuesday to go along with four bogeys.
HERD NOTES
- Lipscomb finished with a +1, 569 (286-283) in the shorted ASUN Championship to match their program-best 2nd-place finish from a season ago.
- Senior Hunter Howell finished tied for 11th with a pair of 73s to card a +4, 146.
- Freshman Paul Swindell recorded a 76 and a 74 to finish tied for 19th.
- Fellow rookie Linus Samuelsson closed one stroke behind Swindell at +9, 151 (79-72).
- The Bisons finished 17 strokes ahead of third-place Jacksonville.
UP NEXT
The Bisons will await their fate as they hope to hear their name called as an at-large selection in the NCAA Regional Selection show. Entering the weekend at No. 69 in the rankings, they are on the bubble.
The selection show will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel on May 2 at 4:30 p.m.
“Our team believes in one another,” Armstrong said. “Wherever that leads us this year, whether we make it to regionals or not, it’s been a dang good pleasure to play for this team and this school.”