NAIA GOLF

The men’s golf program at Shawnee State finished their three-day showing at the Mid-South Conference Championships at Bowling Green Country Club shooting a three-day 942 to finish eighth overall Wednesday afternoon.

BJ Knox, who shot a 76 over the final 18 holes of competition, maintained his 22nd place position that he entered the day with. Knox finished with a three-day 231 after shooting marks of 78 and 77 over the first two 18-hole rounds.

Elijah McCarty and Jordan Hughes, who shot identical marks with 81s and 79s over the first two rounds of action, matched Knox by shooting 76s on the final day of play. The duo moved up five places to finish in a tie for 32nd overall, shooting three-day 236s.

Patrick England, Austin Barta and Steven Zimmerman rounded out the efforts for the men’s golf program at Shawnee State. England shot an 83 on the final day to finish with a three-day 241 while Barta shot a 79 in the third round to post a three-day 245. The duo finished 42nd and 45th, respectively. Zimmerman, who notched an 83, added in a three-day 247 to finish 50th overall.

The three-day effort caps off a season where SSU enjoyed one of its finer efforts in program history. A total of four players, including Knox, McCarty, Zimmerman and Barta, earned at least one Medalist honor while the Bears won five invitationals and finished second in two additional tournaments of the 11 that the Bears competed in on the season.

Campbellsville’s Justin Warman won the individual tournament with a 54-hole score of two-under. Cumberland (TN) and Campbellsville tied in the team scoring at 24-over. Warman will be playing in the Commonwealth Cup at Laurel Oaks, June 5-6.

KNOX NAMED TO FIRST TEAM ALL-MSC

For the second time in his career, Shawnee State golfer BJ Knox was named to the First-Team All-MSC unit as the Shawnee State ace golfer, off of the strength of his outstanding performances throughout the 2020-21 season.

Knox, who won Medalist honors six times since September 2019, obtained five of those within the last academic year alone. He finished ninth or better in 10 of the 11 tournaments that he competed in this season to close out his career.

Of those 11 tournaments, Knox finished inside the top-five of the field in seven of the 11 tournaments in addition to his five Medalist honors. He won the MVNU Fall Invitational and Alice Lloyd Spring Invitational outright while earning Co-Medalist honors at the WVU Tech Golden Bear Classic, Mid-South Conference Fall Preview and the Harry Weinbrecht Invitational.

Along with his tournament accolades, Knox shot a 70 or under in eight different rounds during the season. He never shot worse than a 78 in any round during the year en route to closing his career with his second First-Team All-MSC accolade.

Knox joins a strong list of golfers who have earned at least two all-conference golfer awards in SSU history, including Josh Zornes, Jonathon Oliver, Matt DeHart, Bryan Sturgell, Lanny Rice, Scott Flesher, and Tony Brown.