By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Less than 24 hours after an impressive wire-to-wire victory at the Derek Dolenc Invitational, University of Tennessee at Martin freshman Garrett Chumley was crowned as the Ohio Valley Conference Male Golfer of the Week today.
A Murfreesboro, Tenn. native, Chumley becomes the 14th different Skyhawk to ever bring home an OVC Golfer of the Week award. He is the first UT Martin freshman to capture this award since Ben Reeves on March 20, 2013 and the first Skyhawk rookie to win a tournament since Reeves won the Frito Lay/Taco Bell Intercollegiate on Feb. 17-18, 2013.
Making just the second collegiate appearance of his budding career, Chumley was simply dominant at the tournament hosted by SIUE at Gateway National in Madison, Ill. He finished with a score of 205 (-8) that included scores of 67-70-68, leading at the conclusion of all three rounds.
Chumley boasted the best par-4 scoring average (3.85, -4) in the 90-man field and amassed 40 pars, which ranked second in the tournament. Five of his 11 birdies came during Tuesday’s final round as he won the tournament by three shots over New Orleans’ Brady Bennett.
Showing the utmost poise as a true freshman, Chumley committed just three bogeys during the 54-hole tournament – helping lead UT Martin to the tournament title by 12 strokes over runner-up Weber State.
Through the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign, Chumley leads the Skyhawks with a 72.7 scoring average that also ranks just outside the top-15 amongst all OVC individuals.
UT Martin resumes its fall schedule next week, serving as host to the Grover Page Classic on Oct. 4-5 at the Jackson Country Club in Jackson, Tenn.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information