ROBINSONVILLE, Miss. – It may have only been the first salvo of the 2026-27 season, but The W men's golf served notice that it is going to be a force with which to be reckoned, after a strong effort at the Rhodes Invitational. The Owls carded rounds of 289-293-299=881 and, as might be expected, finished second only to the host Lynx (by 15 shots), in the final team tally.
 
MUW's team aggregate score of 881 ranks as the sixth-best score for 54 holes in program history. The Owls had four scoring golfers, as well as one independent player, all finish inside the top-25 for the tournament.
 
Junior transfer Braden Beverage had an auspicious debut for The W. Beverage, who came to MUW by way of Northwest Mississippi Community College, set the tone with rounds of 73-67-77=217 for his three rounds. That was good enough to finish in a tie for sixth place in the field of 65 competitors.
 
Beverage's second-round 67 featured two eagles, two birdies, and just one bogey. His score ranked as the second-lowest round ever recorded in the program's history. Likewise, his composite 54-hole score of 217 is the eighth-best three-round total every turned in by an Owl.
 
Returning player Nicklaus Ledbetter (77-75-73=225) finished tied for 21st place, jumping nine spots in the final round.
 
Three more MUW member were in a logjam for 24th place. The trio included Carson Minish (74-80-72=226) and Cole Baglione (70-79-77=226), as well as veteran player Trace Novak (76-76-74=226), who played as an independent over the weekend.
 
Senior Cameron James rounded out MUW's lineup. James was in the thick of the individual race through 36 holes, after back-to-back rounds of par-72. But a pedestrian score of 87 in the final round saw James slip from the top-10, to finish in a tie for 37th, but still left Williams encouraged by what he knows James is capable of contributing, and placing every Owl within the top 60-percent in the field of finishers.