WINCHESTER, Va. — Averett University men's golf freshman Chase Myers knew he was having a good day but he couldn't bring himself to check the scoreboard. Finally, while in the fairway on his final hole, he pulled out his phone.

In only his second collegiate tournament, Myers was in first place by one stroke.

"I had no idea where I was at," Myers recalled. "I was just trying to keep a level head the last couple of holes and keep grinding. I was feeling some nerves a little bit coming down the stretch just because I knew I had a good round going. But I definitely felt a lot more nerves after I checked the leaderboard on the last hole."
 
With a few shots left to take, Myers took a deep breath and told himself to commit to the next shot.
 
"I knew that whatever happened, the sun was still going to come up tomorrow," he said. "So that gave me a little peace of mind."
 
Myers parred his final hole to finish at 6-under-par and held on to win Shenandoah University's Glory Days Invitational by one stroke on Monday. Averett placed second as a team in the one-day, 36-hole shootout hosted at Winchester Country Club.
 
"After I found out I won, I couldn't really believe it to be honest," Myers said. "I think for me, mainly I just had a lot of gratitude toward God. My faith in Christ is so important to me and I give all the glory to Him and Him only."
 
Myers began his day with a 1-under 70 through the first 18 holes of the day to put him near the top of the field. However, it was his second round that catapulted him to his first medalist honor. Myers shot 5-under without a single bogey during the final 18 holes. Tied with Division II Chowan University's Bjoern Holt down the stretch, Myers' gained the upper hand on his next-to-last hole as he birdied the par-5 No. 2 hole.
 
"The birdie on my 35th hole was pretty sweet," Myers said. "The pin location was in a tough spot on that hole so it was huge to grab another birdie there going into the last hole. It gave me the momentum I needed to finish the last hole in a good note."
 
Averett shot a collective 10-over 578 to finish second, two strokes behind Chowan. Myers wasn't the only Cougars to have a solid day. Sophomore Benjamin Afzelius finished tied for third at even-par after a stellar day that saw him at or near the top of the leaderboard for most of the first round on the par-71, 6,367-yard course. Freshman Lukas Newton also had a top-10 finish, shooting 3-over. Also for the Cougars, senior Miguel Rodriguez Lamana shot 11-over and sophomore Zach Always shot 13-over. Freshman Nicolas Santoso, playing as an individual, finished at 21-over.
 
"I'm very proud of our performance today," Averett Director of Golf Jeremy Gamba said. "We didn't get off to the best start, but fought our way back into contention and had a chance to win it. I'm extremely proud of Chase today. To win his second collegiate tournament is quite an amazing accomplishment."
 
Myers' second-round 66 tied for fifth in the program record book for lowest score in a single round, two behind the record of 64 shared by Onni Hurri and Caleb Kimbrough.
"I'm most proud of how I kept grinding and kept my focus the whole day," Myers said. "It's a really long day playing 36 holes like that, so it was important for me to slow myself down and stay focused throughout the day."
 
Even though it made the final few shots a little nerve-wracking, Myers was glad he took a glance at the leaderboard on the final hole.
 
"I feel like it gave me a good idea of what I needed to do and how aggressive I needed to be," Myers recalled. "Plus, it gave me a little more encouragement to hit a good shot."
 
The Cougars return to action Oct. 6-7 at the West Pines Invitational hosted by Oglethorpe University in Douglasville, Georgia.