Scottsboro, AL - The sixth-ranked Illinois Central College Men's Golf team spent the start of their week down at the Ron Marshall Spring Fling at Goose Pond Colony Golf Club, as the Cougars would battle numerous ranked opponents in the spring season opener. The Cougars were up by as much as 20 strokes at one point, and while the gap shrunk, the Cougars still prevailed, as Peyton Woods won a three-hole playoff to secure a team and individual win for ICC. 

It was a very competitive field that the Cougars would need to try and take down, with three Division-I Top 25 programs and three Division-II Top 25 programs in the field (not including the Cougars). The event was 54 holes, with two rounds played on Monday, and the 'championship' round played on Tuesday. 

PEYTON WOODS | 1st | +8 / 224
Woods's best round by score may have been Tuesday, but a terrific opening round on Monday gives its competition. Woods eagled the par-5 seventh hole and would birdie the par-4 ninth for a -3 over that three-hole stretch. On his second round of the day, Woods would get another birdie, this time on the par-4 fourth, a one stroke improvement from his first round. 

In the championship round, It would be another -3 stretch that proved key, with Woods birdying the par-4 fifth, par-5 seventh, and par-3 eighth. The finish to the round perhaps wasn't quite as solid, but Woods would hold on in a three-hole playoff, fending off fellow teammate DJ Norman among others. 

DJ NORMAN | 3rd | +8 / 224
DJ Norman's event saw him turn in his best scores in tied fashion on Monday. By way of hole results, Norman's first round of the day was the 'best', with three birdies on the card, led by doing so on the par-5 seventh and par-5 15th. 

Norman would birdie twice in his second round, again on the par-5 seventh, but this time, on the par-4 14th as well. 

Norman seemed to have a favorite, as the seventh hole would be a birdie for him in all three rounds, plus he also birdied the par-4 17th to cap his event. 

TREY BOECKER | 4th | +10 / 226
Trey Boecker's best came on the par-five holes for this one. Of his five birdies, four would come on par-fives. In fact, Boecker would only bogey on three par-fives combining all three rounds. 

Two of his best stretches of golf came in the first round, when he birdied the par-5 seventh, par-3 eighth, and par-5 10th for a -3 over that four-hole stretch, or birdying the par-5 second and par-5 seventh for a -2 over a 11-hole stretch, with pars or better between the third and 12th holes during his championship round. 

Most consistently, Boecker would card a par on the 15th-18th holes all but once out of the 12 possible times. 

QUINN COX | 15th | +15 / 231
Quinn Cox's scorecard improved as the event moved along. Cox's first round saw him get three birdies - the par-5 seventh, par-4 ninth, and par-5 15th. 

Two more birdies in round two came on the par-five second and par-4 ninth. 

Another three-birdie round wrapped up the event for Cox, as he'd do so on the par-4 first, par-5 seventh, and par-4 18th for a grand total of eight birdies in three rounds. 

BROCK TAYLOR | 32nd | +23 / 239
Brock Taylor was another player whose scoring progressively improved during the event. After a birdie on the par-4 14th in the first round, Taylor would card a three-birdie round in the second, getting such scores on the par-3 eighth, par-5 15th, and par-4 18th. 

His best stretch of golf would come on the back nine of his championship round, with a birdie on the par-4 17th effectively canceling out a bogey a couple holes earlier to make it even par golf over the last nine holes for a 77 in the final round. 

BROOKS CLUVER | 40th | +26 / 242
Brooks Cluver would continue perhaps the most consistent run of the team during this event, that being getting at least a birdie on the par-5 seventh, as he would do so in two of his three rounds. 

Cluver's best came when he would birdie on back-to-back holes - the par-4 sixth and par-5 seventh. 

DRAKE KAUFMAN | 52nd | +32 / 248
Drake Kaufman was another player that would card a three-birdie round for the Cougars, with Kaufman doing so in his first Monday round, getting that done on the par-5 10th, par-5 15th, and you guessed it, the par-5 seventh. 

Kaufman would birdie the par-5 15th again during his second Monday round. 

HE SAID IT - QUOTE FROM COACH SEAN KENNEDY
"Winning a tournament championship named after our former ICC coach Ron Marshall is a terrific way to start our spring season. Three Cougars in the top five and Peyton Woods adds yet another tournament medalist to his impressive collegiate playing resume. The Cougars were challenged with a season-opening nine-hour bus ride, a different type of grass we don't usually get the opportunity to play on, and facing southern competitors in their third tournament of the spring. It was exciting to watch this talented Cougar squad rise to the challenge." 

HIBACHI! COUGARS CELEBRATE IN NASHVILLE

The Cougars celebrated on their way back home with a stop at Sakura Hibachi in Nashville, Tennessee