Deacs Claim Battle at Briar’s Creek by Nine Strokes

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. – The Wake Forest men’s golf team claimed their first title of the season Tuesday afternoon and the 44th under the direction of head coach Jerry Haas, winning the Battle at Briar’s Creek by nine strokes in Johns Island, S.C. while senior Mark Power claimed individual medalist honors.

When play was suspended on Monday, the Demon Deacons sat in fifth and were eight strokes back with a little over 18 holes to play. The Deacs had a dominant performance on Tuesday afternoon as before the third round even started Wake Forest had climbed up to second place and within two strokes of the team lead.

In the final round, the Demon Deacons were nearly flawless with all five of the lineup players carding under-par rounds including big third rounds from junior Michael Brennan, sophomore Scotty Kennon, sophomore Marshall Meisel and Power. The Deacs did not count the 1-under-par round of Boyd Owens despite it being one of just 13 under-par rounds recorded in round three.

The Deacs finished the final round 10-under-par, turning in its lowest round of the week by four strokes. Wake Forest turned in a 54-hole score of 851 (-13).

For the second-straight tournament, a Demon Deacon claimed individual medalist honors. Power led nearly the entire way at the Battle at Briar’s Creek, taking the top spot on the individual leaderboard by four strokes. He was 2-under or better in every round, the only player to do so in the field. Additionally, he saved his best round for Tuesday, posting a bogey-free 68 (-4) to run away with his second career individual title.

This marks the Kilkenny, Ireland native’s second career individual title, capturing medalist honors at the storied East Lake Cup as a freshman in 2019.

During his path to his second collegiate title, Power only had five bogies over the three rounds.

In total, seven Demon Deacons finished inside of the top 25 including all five of the lineup players. Brennan continued his impressive play, coming off his fifth career individual title at the Southwestern Invitational less than a week ago, ending the tournament tied for fifth on the leaderboard at 2-under-par for the tournament.

Kennon and senior Daniel Sheedy both tied for 12th at even par. This is the best finish in Sheedy’s career while this is the highest finish for Kennon this season.

This marks the second time in the illustrious program…