Towson Men’s Golf Finishes Fifth at River Run Collegiate as Faana Earns Top-10 Finish

Towson men’s golf closed the River Run Collegiate with a fifth-place finish Tuesday at River Run Country Club in Davidson, North Carolina, completing the 54-hole tournament at 15-over par.

The Tigers entered the final round in third place at even par after opening the tournament with rounds of 283 and 293. Towson struggled to maintain that pace during the final 18 holes, shooting a 15-over 303 to finish with a three-round total of 879. Presbyterian won the tournament at 5-over 869, with host Davidson finishing one stroke behind at 6-over.

Despite the difficult final round, Towson had several positives to take from the tournament. Ariihau Faana finished tied for 10th individually at 1-over par, while the Tigers led the entire tournament with 43 birdies and posted the best team scoring average on the par-3 holes.

Towson Enters Final Round in Contention

Towson positioned itself as a championship contender with an outstanding opening 36 holes Monday. The Tigers fired a 5-under 283 in the first round before following with a 5-over 293, leaving Towson at even-par 576 and only six strokes behind then-leader North Carolina A&T.

Sky Aung was one of the primary reasons for Towson’s strong opening day. The senior entered the final round tied for fifth individually at 3-under, while Faana was also below par at 1-under. Towson accumulated a tournament-leading 30 birdies through the first two rounds and had only two scores of double bogey or worse.

The Tigers therefore entered Tuesday with an opportunity to contend for the team championship. However, the final round dramatically reshaped the leaderboard as North Carolina A&T struggled and Presbyterian moved into position to capture the title.

Faana Leads Towson in Final Round

Faana delivered Towson’s best overall tournament finish and started his final round in impressive fashion. He opened with a par and played each of his first eight holes at par or better, providing the Tigers with stability as they attempted to remain near the top of the team standings.

The senior played the front nine at 2-under par and ultimately finished the tournament at 1-over, earning a tie for 10th place. That put Faana seven strokes behind individual champion Spence Hagood of Presbyterian, who finished at 6-under 210.

Faana also excelled on the shortest holes at River Run. He and Aung tied for second in the tournament in par-3 scoring, with both Tigers playing those holes at 1-under for the tournament.

It continued an excellent start to the fall season for Faana. He entered River Run after tying for second at Towson’s season-opening Doc Gimmler Invitational and again emerged as one of the Tigers’ most reliable players.

Beaudry Posts Towson’s Best Final Round

Freshman Kyle Beaudry provided Towson’s lowest score during Tuesday’s final round.

Beaudry played the front nine at 1-under and remained composed during a difficult scoring day for the Tigers. With two holes remaining in his round, he birdied the second hole and eventually finished with a 1-over 73.

That represented Towson’s best individual score of the final round. Beaudry’s performance also provided another encouraging sign for a Tigers lineup that features a combination of experienced seniors and younger players.

Freshmen Beaudry and Ryan Hoffner have already earned important roles in the Towson lineup. Competing alongside veterans such as Faana, Aung and Derek Johnson gives the Tigers an interesting mix as the fall schedule progresses.

Tigers Excel on Par-3 Holes

Towson’s overall finish does not completely reflect how well the Tigers performed in several statistical categories throughout the tournament.

The Tigers finished with the best par-3 scoring of the 13 teams in the field at 7-over. Towson also tied for third in par-5 scoring at 5-under, showing the ability to take advantage of scoring opportunities on River Run’s longer holes.

Hoffner was especially effective on the par-5s. He played those holes at 3-under for the tournament, ranking 10th among all golfers in the field in par-5 scoring.

Towson’s ability to produce birdies was another major positive. The Tigers finished with 43 birdies over the three rounds, more than any other team in the tournament.

Johnson accounted for 10 of those birdies, tying for the fifth-most among individual competitors. The junior demonstrated throughout the tournament that he could create scoring opportunities even when the Tigers were not consistently converting enough of them to remain in championship contention.

Final Round Changes the Leaderboard

The final 18 holes produced significant movement throughout the team standings.

North Carolina A&T entered Tuesday leading the tournament at 6-under after rounds of 283 and 287. However, the Aggies shot a 315 in the final round and dropped all the way to seventh place at 21-over.

Presbyterian took advantage and captured the championship. The Blue Hose followed rounds of 292 and 285 with a final-round 292 to finish at 5-over 869, earning a one-stroke victory over Davidson. It was Presbyterian’s second regular-season tournament championship of its Division I era.

Davidson finished second at 6-over 870, while East Carolina and Dayton tied for third at 10-over 874. Towson followed five strokes behind those two programs at 15-over 879, with Radford finishing sixth at 17-over 881.

Towson therefore finished only five strokes away from a tie for third despite its difficult final round.

Hagood Captures Individual Championship

Presbyterian senior Spence Hagood completed an impressive wire-to-wire performance to capture the individual championship.

Hagood entered the final round at 6-under after shooting rounds of 68 and 70 Monday. He finished with an even-par 72 Tuesday, giving him a three-round total of 210 and his first collegiate individual tournament championship.

East Carolina’s Luke Mosley finished tied for second at 3-under 213 after rounds of 69, 73 and 71. Davidson freshman Griffin Cheatwood, who held the lead for part of Tuesday’s final round, eventually tied for eighth at even-par 216.

Faana followed closely behind at 1-over, tying for 10th and giving Towson a representative near the top of a competitive 74-player field.

Towson Shows Potential Despite Final-Round Slide

Fifth place will likely feel somewhat disappointing considering where Towson stood after Monday’s opening rounds, but the Tigers showed plenty of reasons for optimism.

Towson was only six strokes off the lead entering the final 18 holes and had two players below par through 36 holes. The Tigers also demonstrated their scoring ability by producing more birdies than any other team in the tournament.

The biggest issue was consistency during the final round. Towson’s 303 was 20 strokes higher than its opening-round 283, turning a legitimate opportunity to contend for the championship into a fifth-place finish.

Still, the Tigers finished ahead of eight teams and only five strokes behind East Carolina and Dayton for third. With Faana earning another strong individual result and Beaudry delivering Towson’s best final-round score, the Tigers had encouraging performances from both veterans and younger players.

Tigers Head to Nemacolin

Towson will now have nearly two weeks before returning to tournament competition.

The Tigers are scheduled to compete in the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 5-6. The break gives Towson an opportunity to build on the positives from River Run while addressing the final-round consistency that prevented the Tigers from challenging Presbyterian and Davidson for the championship.

Towson has already demonstrated early in the fall that it has multiple players capable of competing near the top of tournament leaderboards. Faana has been particularly consistent, while Aung, Johnson, Beaudry and Hoffner have each provided encouraging stretches.

The next challenge will be putting those performances together across all three rounds.

MSB Take

Towson’s fifth-place finish does not completely tell the story of its performance at River Run. The Tigers entered the final round in third place and only six strokes from first, which shows they were legitimately in contention against a solid 13-team field.

Tuesday’s 303 ultimately cost Towson a chance at the championship, but there were plenty of positives. Faana earned another top-10 finish, Beaudry responded with Towson’s best final-round score and the Tigers led the entire tournament with 43 birdies.

The most encouraging statistic may be those 43 birdies. Towson clearly has enough scoring ability to compete near the top of tournament fields, and leading all 13 teams in birdies demonstrates the Tigers can attack a golf course instead of simply trying to survive it.

Now Towson needs to turn that scoring ability into three consistent rounds. If the Tigers can eliminate the type of final-round slide they experienced at River Run while continuing to generate birdies at this rate, there should be opportunities for much stronger finishes as the season progresses.