WICHITA FALLS, Texas – With solid scores up and down the lineup, plus an impressive performance from freshman Jackson Powers as an individual entry, the UT Tyler men's golf team produced a ninth-place finish at the Midwestern State Invitational in Wichita Falls.
 
The Patriots opened and closed the tournament with two of its three best rounds of the fall season, shooting 291 in the first of two Monday rounds before finishing with a 292 in Tuesday's final round. The three-round total score of 881 was just two strokes back of Lone Star Conference rival Texas A&M-Commerce.  UT Tyler was one of 10 Lone Star Conference programs in the tournament, finishing sixth of the 10 teams.
 
Freshman Jackson Powers, an individual entry into the tournament, shot a three-round total 217, scoring two-under (69) in the first round before following with a one-over (72) in the second round to finish the day one-under par through 36 holes.
 
How It Happened: Junior Alex Brandt and senior Brendan Johnson led the Patriots' team scoring group, posting a three-round score of 220.  Johnson opened the tournament with his best round, shooting one-under (70) in the first round while closing with an even-par 71.  Brandt posted rounds of 75, 72, and 73 to finish the tournament with a seven-over, three-round score of 220.
 
Junior Hayden Montoya was one stroke behind the team scoring leaders, finishing the tournament with an eight-over, three-round score of 221.  Montoya's best round was the second round, shooting an even-par 71.  Senior Jeff Murphy opened the tournament with an even-par 71, and he finished with a three-round score of 224, while senior Harris Butler finished with 227.
 
As a team, UT Tyler ranked fifth in the tournament on par-4 holes, averaging 4.11 strokes (+18), while the Patriots were 16-over (3.27 average) on par-3s and 13-over (5.29 average) on par-5s.  Alex Brandt and Hayden Montoya tied for the fourth-most pars in the tournament with 37, and Jeff Murphy was also in the top-10 of individual pars with 36, helping UT Tyler to the third-best team total for par holes with 163.
 
UT Tyler Leaders:
Best round (tournament): Jackson Powers (69, round 1)
Best round (first 18): Jackson Powers (-2/69)
Best round (second 18): Hayden Montoya (E/71)
Best round (third 18): Brendan Johnson (E/71)
Pars: Alex Brandt (37), Hayden Montoya (37), Jeff Murphy (36)
Birdies: Jackson Powers (11), Brendan Johnson (11), Harris Butler (8)
Par-3 scoring: Alex Brandt (even), Hayden Montoya (+1), Jackson Powers (+2)
Par-4 scoring: Harris Butler (+1), Brendan Johnson (+2)
Par-5 scoring: Jackson Powers (-2), Brendan Johnson (even)
 
What's Next: UT Tyler closes out the fall portion of the 2019-20 season at the Jerry Hrnciar Invitational hosted by Cameron University at the Territory Golf Club in Duncan, Okla.
 
Quotable (head coach Michael McMunn): "We played decent golf all week, but we just need to convert more of our birdie opportunities, improve our par-5 scoring average, and simply grind harder.  I was proud of several of the rounds we played, especially Alex, Jackson, and Brendan, and I was proud of Hayden for bouncing back the way he did.  We still have a lot of work to do."