JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — The Ave Maria Men's Golf team competed in the Sun Conference Championship Sunday, April 27, through Tuesday, April 29. Of the 43 players in the tournament, Ty Kaufman finished tied for third with a score of -3 over the three rounds played at the Jekyll Island Golf Club. As a team, the Gyrenes finished sixth in the conference, ahead of two other teams, with a +22.

Sunday was the best day for the Gyrenes who shot just 4-over in the opening round. Kaufman and Alex Veneziano tied for the team lead, each shooting a 70. Kaufman had three birdies and one bogey in the round while Veneziano led the team with five birdies but also had three bogeys. Daniel Nycum was next on the team with a 74, collecting four birdies, and Matt Mullen rounded out the top four scores with a 78. At the end of the first day, the Gyrenes were in fourth place.

Monday got a little tougher for the Gyrenes who shot a combined 9-over. Again, Kaufman led the team and was the only one to shoot under par with a 71. He had four birdies in the round with three bogeys. Mullen rose up two spots on the team and shot a 73 with two birdies. Veneziano was right behind him with a 75 and four birdies. Benny Achziger took the fourth spot for the Gyrenes with a 78. Achziger had the best hole of the round for Ave Maria, scoring an eagle on the par-5 11^th hole. Ave Maria dropped one spot into fifth after the second round.

The Gyrenes matched their score from Monday in the final round on Tuesday, shooting 9-over to finish 22-over in the tournament. For the third day in a row, Kaufman led the team, this time shooting an even 72. He had four birdies and four bogeys. Veneziano was back in second with a 74 and four birdies, followed by Nycum with 75 and two birdies and Mullen with a 76 and four birdies.

Kaufman's even round kept him steady on the player leaderboard and finished in a five-way tie for third place. Veneziano finished in the top 20 at 16^th and was followed by Mullen at 29^th, Nycum and 34^th and Achziger at 42^nd.

During the awards ceremony on Tuesday, Kaufman and Veneziano were named to the All-Conference team. It is the second year in a row Kaufman has been named All-Conference and the first time being honored for Veneziano.

Keiser won the conference finishing 14-under-par over all three rounds. They were the only team to finish below par. St. Thomas and Southeastern tied for second at 3-over. Coastal Georgia and Webber were the other two teams to finish ahead of the Gyrenes with the Mariners in fourth place at 5-over and the Warriors in fifth place at 12-over. Ave Maria finished ahead of two teams, New College and SCAD finished tied for seventh place at 33-over.