GREENSBORO, N.C.  The No. 1 ranked Methodist University men's golf team had an excellent showing in rounds two & three of the Gate City Invitational on Tuesday, as the Monarchs shot 11-under and 14-under par, respectively, to bring their final team score to 835 (-29) and a first-place victory.
 
Along with the team win, seniors Haden Ruby and Chase Walts were named co-medalist winners. The two of them scored 203 (-13) during the two-day tournament.

JUST THE FACTS
Event: Gate City Invite
Course: Forest Oaks Country Club (Par 72–6,854)
Top teams: 1 – Methodist (284-277-274–835; -29), 2 – Washington and Lee University (280-279-282–841; -23), 3 – Emory University (281-282-283–846; -18)
Top individuals: T1 – Haden Ruby, Methodist  (66-71-66­–203; -13), T1 – Chase Walts, Methodist (71-65-67–203; -13), 3 – Turner Chiles, Sewanee: University of the South (71-69-65–205; -11)
 
FINAL DAY

• Walts had a monster second round, where he matched his career-best 65 (-7). That rocketed him up from 24th to first place when the third round began. He ended up shooting another sub-70 score, 67 (-5), in his final round to maintain his placement at the top spot. Walts ended up making 14 birdies between the second and third rounds.
• Ruby finished his last few holes of round two and posted a 71 (-1) before starting his last lap around the course. During his final trip, he once again shot a 66 (-6) like he did in the first round. An eagle on hole 11 was a big help in closing the gap between him and Walts for the number one leaderboard spot.
• Fifth-year Aiden Spampinato moved up 20 spots to finish in a tie for 21st with a tournament score of 214 (-2). He shaved off three strokes from his opening round to card a 70 (-2) in round two and then completed the day with a 71 (-1) on his final walk around the course.
• The largest leap of all the Methodist golfers was freshman Lucas Herring, who moved from T-69th overall after day one to T-29th place by the end of the event. He shot over par in the opening round, but during his last two rounds, he recorded a pair of sub-par performances, respectively, a 71(-1) and a 70 (-2). This gave the rookie a total of 216 (E).
• Coming in a tie for 52nd, senior David D'Agostino ended the event with a final score of 219 (+3). He shot even-par, 72, in the second round before carding a 73 (+1) on his last go-around.

UP NEXT
The next time Methodist takes the course will be when the Monarchs travel down to Florida to take part in the 2024 GolfWeek Fall Preview, from October 13-15.