MURRELLS INLET, S.C. - After carding two sub-300 rounds on Sunday, the Kansas State men's golf team took a step back during the final round by shooting a 14-over par 302, giving the Wildcats a combined three-round score of 27-over 891 to tie for sixth with Arkansas and Texas Tech. East Tennessee State, ranked 12th going into the tournament, ran away from the pack by firing an impressive three-over par 867 to win the team title, 10 strokes ahead of second-place and host Coastal Carolina.

Overall, head coach Tim Norris was pleased with his team's first sub-900 outing of the spring season.

"We made some mistakes today that we paid dearly for," Norris said. "However, I am pleased with how we played, considering this was a step up competition-wise compared to previous tournaments."

Alex Cole of Pepperdine shot an impressive three-under par 69 during the final round to take home the individual title at 6-under par 210. Cole edged out the top-rated golfer in the tournament, Rhys Davies of East Tennessee State, by one stroke.

Seniors Tyler Cummins and Ben Kern, the only K-State golfers to have played the par-72, 6,950-yard TPC at Myrtle Beach, led the Wildcats during the two-day event. Cummins paced the Wildcats for the second time this season and recorded his second-best placing of the year, tying for 11th after a 75-70-74-219 (+3) performance. Kern finished two shots back of Cummins, carding a five-over par 221 to tie for 20th.

Robert Streb tied for 22nd after his six-over 222 performance. Joe Kinney and Jonathan James rounded out the Wildcat competitors. Kinney tied for 52nd at 13-over par 229 and James placed 72nd with a 12-over par 238.

The Wildcats will participate in the Stevinson Ranch Invitational, March 27-28, in Stevinson, Calif.

General Hackler Invitational
Murrells Inlet, S.C.
TPC of Myrtle Beach
Par: 72; Yardage: 6,950

Team Scores: 1. East Tennessee State, 286-289-292867 (+3); 2. Costal Carolina, 288-292-297877 (+13); 3. Pepperdine, 297-292-298887 (+23); T4. Florida State, 292-296-300888 (+24); T4. Virginia Tech, 297-297-294888 (+24); T6. Kansas State, 299-290-302891 (+27); T6. Arkansas, 294-300-297891 (+27); T6. Texas Tech, 303-295-293891 (+27); 9. Virginia, 298-304-290892 (+28); 10. North Florida, 306-298-289893 (+29); T11. Notre Dame, 296-297-303896 (+32); T11. NC-Wilmington, 302-307-287896 (+32); 13. Toledo, 293-308-303904 (+40); 14. Illinois, 295-302-311908 (+44); 15. Michigan State, 317-300-297914 (+50).

Top Individuals: 1. Alex Coe, Pepperdine, 70-71-69210 (-6); 2. Rhys Davies, East Tennessee St., 69-70-72211 (-5); 3. Jordan Findlay, East Tennessee St., 70-70-73213 (-3); 4. Eamonn McLoughlin, Virginia, 72-74-68214 (-2); T5. Scott Guftason, Notre Dame, 70-70-75215 (-1); T5. Gareth Shaw, East Tennessee St., 70-75-70215 (-1).

K-State Individuals: T11. Tyler Cummins, 75-70-74219 (+3); T20. Ben Kern, 71-75-75221 (+5); T22. Robert Streb, 76-71-75222 (+6); T52. Joe Kinney, 77-74-78229 (+13); 72. Jonathan James, 78-76-84238 (+22).