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Florida Tech Coach Chris Saltmarsh Named SSC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year

By  //  May 5, 2018

Golfers Max O'Hagan and Han Xue recognized with All-SSC Honors

Sunshine State Conference announced its 2018 All-SSC Men’s Golf Teams and head coach Chris Saltmarsh and sophomores Max O’Hagan and Han Xue were among the list of individuals honored by the league. (FIT Image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – On Friday, the Sunshine State Conference announced its 2018 All-SSC Men’s Golf Teams and head coach Chris Saltmarsh and sophomores Max O’Hagan and Han Xue were among the list of individuals honored by the league.

Saltmarsh has been named the SSC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year after leading Florida Tech to the program’s first Sunshine State Conference Championship and a consistent Top-5 ranking this season by the Golf Coaches Association of America and Golfstat.

Saltmarsh, who is in his eighth season at FIT, currently has the Panthers ranked at No. 4 in the nation which is the highest national rating received by the team in program history.

Under his guidance, the Crimson & Gray have recorded numerous program-bests in 2017-18, including season scoring average (286.27), season scoring versus par (0.27), team par or better rounds (15), finish percentage (81.2%) and eagles (18). The men’s golf team has also achieved the best par-3 scoring (3.15), par-4 scoring (4.13), and par-5 scoring (4.76) in program history this season.

After being labeled semifinalists for the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award, the sophomore duo of O’Hagan and Xue added to their list of laurels as they were recognized on the All-SSC Teams for the first time in their young careers.

A product of Surrey England, O’Hagan has been tabbed to the All-SSC First Team after leading Florida Tech with a 70.77 scoring average over 30 rounds this season. He set a new school-record in 2017-18 with 21 rounds at par or lower. O’Hagan, the No. 8 ranked player in Division II according to Golfstat, tied for third at the 2018 SSC Championship at 8-under 205 (-8). He led all competitors in the conference tournament with 16 birdies over the three rounds.

Xue, a native of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, ranks seconds on the team with a 72.13 average over 30 rounds of golf. His 14 par or better rounds this season are tied for fifth all-time in the FIT record book.

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The 34th ranked player in the nation placed fifth at this year’s SSC Championship with a 206 (-7) over the 54 holes. Xue’s 7-under 64 in the final round of the tournament tied the lowest round score in SSC Championship history and was the best round score since 2009.

Voting for the All-SSC Men’s Golf Teams was conducted among the leagues’ men’s golf coaches.

The Florida Tech men’s golf team, which was awarded the No. 4 seed it the South Region, is set to compete in the 2018 NCAA Division II South/Southeast Super Regional Championship on May 7-9. This year’s tournament is hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne at Rock Barn Country Club in Conover, North Carolina.

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