LENOIR CITY, Tenn. – With Beck Burnette again leading the way, the Lee men's golf team placed second in the 2023 State Farm Tennessee River Rumble staged on the Tennessee National course on Monday and Tuesday.
North Georgia fired a 54-hole total of 838 to claim first place in the 20-team field while the Flames tallied an 852. Clayton State was third (856) followed by Carson-Newman (859), host LMU (861) and Coker College (866).
"It was another strong field this week," said Lee Director of Golf John Maupin. "It is fun competing against the best teams in the country each week. I was proud of the team effort, and it was another strong showing."
"We couldn't quite keep the momentum going from the early part of our rounds to the later parts and that kept us from pulling out the win," Maupin added. "We still made a nice charge with about 4-5 holes to go, but credit to North Georgia for getting it done."
North Georgia's Evan Thompson took medalist honors with a 206. Lander's Linus Jonnson was second (207). Burnette put together rounds of 69-71-69 – 209 and his -7 was good enough for third place.
Dustin DeMersseman and Dalton Chuba finished in a tie for 17th with a 1-under par 215 for the Flames in a field of 100 golfers. Oliver Lewis-Perkins was at even par (216) and tied for 26th. Trey Melvin rounded out the Lee scoring (225) and finished in a tie for 55th.
"This was two tournaments in a row where I felt like we got more contribution up and down the lineup so that was a big positive," noted Coach Maupin. "Ollie's (Lewis-Parker) 68 in Round 2 and Dalton's (Chuba) 68 in Round 3 are great signs for us moving forward."
The competition gets even stronger next week for the Flames when they travel down to Pensacola to take part in the Argonaut Cup. On April 16-18 the Flames will begin play in the Gulf South Conference Championship.
