East Carolina University
Rod Myers Invitational
Kilgore, Pirates Win Rod Myers Invitational
October 12, 2014 | Men's Golf
DURHAM, N.C. --- Junior George Kilgore claimed medalist honors at 7-under 137 (68-69) to lead East Carolina to its first team title of 2014-15 campaign Sunday at 15-under 561 at the rain-shortened Rod Myers Invitational at the par-72, 7,136-yard Duke Golf Club.
A severe weather system in the area Saturday and Sunday reduced the tournament to a 36-hole event after play was suspended Saturday evening due to extreme lightening conditions. Due to the travel plans of some of the participating teams, the scheduled third round was never played.
After finishing runner-up in two of its first three tournaments of the season, the Pirates broke through with their first title of the year by recording a 15-under 561 (280-281) to finish ahead of a trio of top-35 teams. Baylor (286-284=570), which is ranked No. 2 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, finished nine strokes behind the Pirates in third-place. ECU finished seven stroke ahead of No. 25 North Carolina in second-place (278-290=568) with No. 33 Iowa (295-297=592) finishing tied for seventh, 31 strokes back of ECU.
"This was a strong field on a challenging course," McPhaul said. "The weather created adversity with delays yesterday. The conditions did a 180 from yesterday and the course grew teeth today. Our guys responded to all those challenges positively. They were undaunted and that gave us a chance to win."
The team victory is ECU's first since claiming the River Landing Intercollegiate on April 11, 2014. The Pirates have finished in the top three of each of their first four events of the season and have nine tournaments under coach McPhaul since his arrival in the fall of 2006.
Kilgore entered Sunday tied atop the leaderboard at 7-under through 24 holes and remained there by shooting par during his final 10 holes to finish captured medalist honors for the first time since joining the ECU program. He finished two strokes ahead of Baylor's Kyle Jones (69-70=139) and Notre Dame's Matt Rushing (68-71=139).
"I really stayed in the process this weekend," Kilgore said. "We have a team motto this year `win the battle' and that's what I tried to do every shot, every hole and every round. It's hard to put [winning] into words to be honest, but it's certainly satisfying from a golf perspective. I focused more on winning the battle rather than the outcome. It's nice to see some fruits from the hard work put in over the years."
Kilgore's first round 68 represented his best single-round score as a Pirate. It was also the first time in his career that he shot consecutive rounds in the 60s.
"George Kilgore was outstanding," ECU Head Coach Press McPhaul said. "He put his head down, ignored leaderboard distractions and stayed committed to the process of playing his best each hole and each shot. I'm so proud of him and happy for him."
ECU junior Wes Conover earned his third top-5 finish in four fall events after he tied for third at 4-under 140 (72-68). He had the low round of the day Sunday with eight birdies in 14 holes. He and Kilgore each posted 11 birdies to share the tournament lead.
Junior Al Dickens recorded his second top-10 finish of the season, tying for sixth-place at 3-under 141 (71-70). Fellow junior Jacob Hicks tied for 13th at par 144 (70-74) for his second top-15 finish of the year. Freshman Tim Conover completed the 36-hole event at 4-over 148 (75-73), tied for 33rd. Nick Thompson tied for 54th at 10-over 154 as an individual.
East Carolina will conclude its fall season at the Pinetree Intercollegiate, Oct. 20-21, in Kennesaw, Ga.
Players Mentioned
