MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Michael Barnard had just finished lunch when he was told to go to the driving range.
There are benefits, perhaps, to an early tee time in competitive play. And with Barnard’s start time of 8:40 a.m. on the third and final round of stroke play at the 2022 Conference USA Championships, the redshirt junior found himself atop the individual leaderboard as the other crop of leaders, with a 10:00 tee time, made their way up their final few holes.
Less pressure on the Hendersonville, Tenn. Native down the stretch, to be sure, but that also meant he might not be as fresh in the event someone caught his -6 score that currently led the field at Texarkana Country Club and forced a playoff.