ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.— The Montreat men's golf team kicked off its 2021 fall season with the Coastal Georgia Invitational, a two-day, three-round tournament. Montreat finished 11^th in the 14-team field, shooting 944 as a team.
 
In round one, the Cavaliers sat in 10^th place after they managed to shoot a team score of 308. All five golfers officially competing for the Cavaliers shot within four strokes of each other in the opening round. Hayden Zitzewitz and David Roberts paced Montreat with their 76 (+5), followed by Ben Leonard and Ryan Poblacion at 78 and Tanner Reynolds at 79.
 
Round two proved to be a few strokes more difficult for the Cavaliers, shooting 316 as a team over the next 18 holes. Despite a few extra strokes, Montreat remained in 10^th place as a team heading into the final round. Reynolds led the way in round two with an individual showing of 77. Leonard and Zitzewitz shot a 78 and a 79, and Poblacion and Roberts shot an 82 and 84, respectively.
 
On the final day of competition, Montreat again showed its consistency, shooting a team score of 320. Zitzewitz, like in round one, turned in the best official score for Montreat. His round three 18-hole total of 78 was trailed closely by Leonard's 79, Poblacion's 81 and Reynolds' 82. Roberts rounded out Montreat's five official round three scores with an 85.
 
Zitzewitz's three-day total of 233 was Montreat's best official individual score. His performance earned a 41^st-place finish in the 71-golfer field. Leonard finished just two strokes and two places behind Zitzewitz in 43^rd.
 
Montreat also had two golfers competing as individuals at the Coastal Georgia Invitational. Cole Wiley put together the top performance of any Montreat golfer with his three-round score of 232 (75-78-79). Will Hardwick also shot 242 (79-82-81) over his three individual rounds.
 
"I am very proud of our players this week," said Montreat golf head coach John Sullivan. "We struggled on the greens, but overall, I'm very happy with how we played tee to green. The last two days give us a good idea of what we need to work on moving forward."
 
Keiser University won the Coastal Georgia Invitational men's team title with its score of 836 (-16). Dawson Peters of the University of South Carolina-Beaufort was the individual champion with a three-round score of 202.
 
For a full list of the team and individual results, click here.
 
The Montreat men's golf team will be back in action with a scrimmage, the Bryan College Invitational, on Sept. 23.