Lipscomb Golf’s Dawson Armstrong set a course record in his last round of the Ryman Hospitality Intercollegiate on Tuesday in a tie for first place.
Armstrong shot a record-low 63 strokes in the third round, or 8-under-par, pushing him to tie Rice’s Mitchell Meissner. Both Armstrong and Meissner finished 5-under-par on the tournament.
Coming into the third round, Armstrong was 4-over after shooting 70 and 75. He shot 5-over-par on the 13th hole in the second round. Finishing the hole in nine strokes made for his worst score on a hole in his college career.
“Yesterday was one of the most testing days of golf I’ve ever had,” Armstrong said. “Nothing went my way. I hit a lot of poor shots, and just didn’t execute well.”
In the last round, Armstrong birdied six holes and sunk an eagle on the 10th. At 11, he chipped it in for a birdie in what he called his “shot of the day.”
“It could have been a lot better, but I’m very pleased with how I played today,” Armstrong said. “Today’s round was a long time coming for me. So, it was a good sigh of relief for me.”
Armstrong may have set a record, but it wasn’t enough to push his team over the edge against the winning Rice Owls. Lipscomb finished 13-over and 5 shots behind the Owls.
Senior Eric Ansett led the Bisons at an even-par going into the third round of the two-day tournament.
“I made birdies when I needed to and had a lot of nice par-saves,” Ansett said on the first two rounds. “It was a grind for sure; it wasn’t easy.”
In the last round, Ansett bogeyed five holes and double-bogeyed holes nine and 16. He tied for 17th, finishing 8-over.
“That’s golf,” said Ansett. “Some days you just don’t have it. Unfortunately, today was just one of those days.”
While the Bisons weren’t able to come out on top, they did enjoy playing at a familiar course. The tournament was held at Richland Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee and served as the location for Lipscomb’s lone home tournament.
“It was really fun to see familiar faces and have people cheering you on, especially when good shots happen,” Armstrong said. “It really helps you bounce back from bad mistakes. It was just nice having friends around.”
Lipscomb will play in the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship in West Point, Mississippi on Monday.