MSU’s Trey Wall becomes the first conference champion since, Hall of Famer, Patrick Newcomb in 2013
Trey Wall became the first student-athlete from the Murray State men’s golf program to win the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championship Tuesday when he carded a final round 3-under-par 69 to secure a two-shot victory at Des Moines Country Golf Club in Des Moines, Iowa.
Wall, a redshirt freshman from Benton, Kentucky, had a tremendous first day at the event when bad weather on Sunday pushed Monday to become a 36-hole day. Wall shot a score of 70 in the morning and then posted a game-changing 67 in the afternoon to create a one-shot lead.
In Tuesday’s final round, Belmont’s Foster Wood took a one-shot lead on Wall after a birdie at the 14th, but Wall rallied with a birdie at the Par-3 17th and another at the Par-5 18th to get the win.
As a team, the Racers went into the final day with a one-shot lead on Illinois State and built a four-shot advantage, but couldn’t bring home the title at the end of the day.
The Racers still had their best finish in three tries at The Valley title of second place, after a fifth in 2023 and a fourth in 2024.
MSU’s score line for the runner up showing was 286-284-289=859, three shots from the Redbirds that carded scores of 281-290-285=856.
MVC Championship Notes
- Wall was named the MVC Freshman of the Year.
- In 54 holes of competition, Wall was third in the field of 50 players on Des Moines CC par-3 holes with and average score of 2.75.
- He was third on par-4 holes at 3.90 and fourth on par-5’s at 4.67.
- Wall’s score line in the 91st playing of the MVC Championship was 70-67-69=206, tied for the fifth-lowest 54-hole total in league history.
- Wall’s 10-under score in relation to par is second all-time in The Valley behind only Valparaiso’s Anthony Delisanti’s 13-under in 2023.
- Wall is MSU’s 12th conference medalist champion as he joins: Bill Graham (1962, 1963), Ron Acree (1965), Chris Piggot (1971), Chris Carlson (1987), Adam Grogan (1996), Brandon Henson (2001), Nick Newcomb (2010), Cameron Carrico (2011) and Patrick Newcomb (2012, 2013).
- Bill Graham and Patrick Newcomb are the only Racers to win two league championships.
- Jay Nimmo’s 1st round 66 (-6 under) is tied for the second-lowest score in MVC Championship history, as the ninth instance of a 66, behind the record of 65 by Gary Navarro (Wichita State, 1972), Felix van Dijk (Illinois State, 2023) and Josh Kirkham (Bradley, 2023).
- Nimmo’s 6-under par score is tied for second all-time in The Valley in relation to par, behind Navarro’s -7 score in 1972.
- For Nimmo, he had back-to-back sixth place finishes in the last two seasons in the MVC.
- With Wall taking the win and Nimmo in sixth place, it marks the first time in the MVC for the Racers to have two players in the top-10 and the first for the program since 2015 when Brock Simmons and Jordan Smith shared eighth place for the Racers in the OVC Championship.
- Wall was first in the field with 16 birdies and Nimmo was second with 14.
- Lennon Albans was sixth in pars with 39.
- The last time the Racers finished second in a conference championship was in 2015, five shots behind EKU. In 2008 and 2009 they finished second – 19 shots behind EKU and lost by one shot to Austin Peay.
- Wednesday (April 30) Trey Wall learns of his playing assignment for the NCAA D-I Men’s Golf Championship when he will compete (May 12-14) at one of seven regionals including Amherst, Virginia (Poplar Grove GC), Auburn, Alabama (Auburn UC), Bremerton, Washington (Gold Mountain GC), Reno, Nevada (Montreux G&CC), Tallahassee, Florida (Seminole Legacy GC), Urbana, Illinois (Atkins GC). The NCAA Finals takes place (May 23-28) in Carlsbad, California at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa – North Course.
Murray State 286 284 289 859
Illinois State 281 290 285 856
Belmont 294 287 285 866
Southern Illinois 300 285 294 879
Drake 292 294 286 872
Valparaiso 295 291 289 875
Northern Iowa 296 291 293 880
Bradley 301 295 293 889
Evansville 295 307 307 294
Missouri State 303 310 294 907
2 Murray State 296 284 289 859
1 Trey Wall 70 67 69 206
6 Jay Nimmo 66 73 75 214
13 Rocco Zakutney 74 71 73 218
22 Lennon Albans 76 73 73 222
35 Kamaren Cunningham 78 75 74 227
