Without Matthews, Owls finish 12th at Wolfpack Intercollegiate

The Owls were led by three freshman as they placed 16-team Wolfpack Intercollegiate Tuesday at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Owls concluded their third tournament of the season Tuesday  with a 33-over par 559 to tie for 12th out of 16 teams at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate held at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, North Carolina.

After finishing the Hartford Hawk Invitational Oct. 5-6 without senior all-American Brandon Matthews due to injury, the Owls went the entire event in North Carolina without their leader. Matthews is competing in the first stage of the Web.com PGA Tour qualifying school in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

“This year it’s going to be a tough year,” Quinn said. “I think, before the year’s over, we’re going to see some great stuff, and we’re going to see some stuff that’s not so great.”

Freshmen John Barone, Trey Wren and Sam Soeth shot the team’s three lowest scores at the tournament.  Barone finished with a four-over par 146, Wren carded a five-over par 147 and Soeth shot a seven-over par 149.

Wren finished in 57th place in Hartford and 46th at the Quechee Cup Collegiate Challenge Sept. 26-27.  He said he turned in his best performance as an Owl after his 30th place finish Tuesday.

“I’m learning and I’m getting better,” Wren said. “This was definitely a lot better than the first two. It’s completely a learning process.”

Wren said after the team’s first three tournaments, managing his time off the course has gotten easier, but he said managing time is all dependent on the length and location of each event.

“I’m getting there,” Wren said. [All the events] are kind of different but it’s’ not really too bad. It’s very manageable. I haven’t watched TV since I’ve been here.”

While the Wolfpack Intercollegiate gave the Owls hope for the future of the program with strong play from their trio of freshmen, one of their mainstays in the lineup hit a bump in the road.

Sophomore Evan Thornton finished with a 15-over par 157, which tied for 76th on the 91-player leaderboard. This performance came on the heels of an eight-over par 152 at the Quechee Cup Collegiate Challenge.

Thornton did not participate in the Hartford Hawk Invitational.

“Golf is the kind of thing where it’s a big muscle memory sport,” Thornton said. “I can have a good day, take a day off, and then have a rough day after that.

Greg Frank can be reached at Greg.Frank@Temple.edu or on Twitter @g_frank6.

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