The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

Men’s Golf Runs Away With Team Title at Graeme McDowell Invite
9/28/2021 7:32:00 PM | Men's Golf
GADSDEN, Ala. – In his first tournament as head coach of the UAB men's golf program, Matt Whall led the Blazers to a resounding victory at the Graeme McDowell Invitational at RTJ Silver Lakes.
Not only did UAB win the team title, but the Blazers went 1-2 individually as Khavish Varadan (-12) won his first collegiate tournament, while Nick Robillard (-11) finished one stroke behind. Varadan sunk his birdie putt on 18 to win the individual title.
UAB finished 23 strokes ahead of second place, which was claimed by Florida Gulf Coast (-4), and are now back-to-back champions of the Graeme McDowell Invitational.
"It was such a fun week to watch these guys perfectly execute their game plans," Whall said. "It's never easy to win a golf tournament but these guys let their skills take care of that. I am so pleased for each one of them as they could see their hard work starting to pay off. We've talked a lot about trust and patience lately and the guys just proved the point to themselves this week."
Varadan shot a tournament-low round 66 on the final 18 holes to secure the victory. He was under par in all three rounds (69-69-66 = 204) and his 204 is a new collegiate low.
Robillard was also under par in all three round by shooting 67-70-68 = 205, which was also a collegiate low.
The Blazers had two additional players with top 20 finishes in Ethan Hagood (74-71-72 = 217, +1) and Alfie Fox (71-73-73 = 217, +1) as both tied for 20th. Hagood's even par in the final round moved him up four spots into the top 20.
John Snoddy (79-67-76 = 222, +6) placed 39th overall to round out UAB's lineup.
The Blazers are back in action in two weeks at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate hosted by ETSU on Oct. 10-12.
Whall on Khavish Varadan:
"What a fantastic start to the season for Khavish. He works so hard at his game and it's really pleasing that the outcome justified the work this week. He was battling hard with Nick Robillard for the individual title and just edged him in a great battle with a birdie on a tough finishing hole. I'm excited to see if we can keep the momentum going into the rest of the season."
Not only did UAB win the team title, but the Blazers went 1-2 individually as Khavish Varadan (-12) won his first collegiate tournament, while Nick Robillard (-11) finished one stroke behind. Varadan sunk his birdie putt on 18 to win the individual title.
UAB finished 23 strokes ahead of second place, which was claimed by Florida Gulf Coast (-4), and are now back-to-back champions of the Graeme McDowell Invitational.
"It was such a fun week to watch these guys perfectly execute their game plans," Whall said. "It's never easy to win a golf tournament but these guys let their skills take care of that. I am so pleased for each one of them as they could see their hard work starting to pay off. We've talked a lot about trust and patience lately and the guys just proved the point to themselves this week."
Varadan shot a tournament-low round 66 on the final 18 holes to secure the victory. He was under par in all three rounds (69-69-66 = 204) and his 204 is a new collegiate low.
Robillard was also under par in all three round by shooting 67-70-68 = 205, which was also a collegiate low.
The Blazers had two additional players with top 20 finishes in Ethan Hagood (74-71-72 = 217, +1) and Alfie Fox (71-73-73 = 217, +1) as both tied for 20th. Hagood's even par in the final round moved him up four spots into the top 20.
John Snoddy (79-67-76 = 222, +6) placed 39th overall to round out UAB's lineup.
The Blazers are back in action in two weeks at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate hosted by ETSU on Oct. 10-12.
Whall on Khavish Varadan:
"What a fantastic start to the season for Khavish. He works so hard at his game and it's really pleasing that the outcome justified the work this week. He was battling hard with Nick Robillard for the individual title and just edged him in a great battle with a birdie on a tough finishing hole. I'm excited to see if we can keep the momentum going into the rest of the season."
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