HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Lincoln Memorial University men's golfer Sam Broadhurst (Nuneaton, England) experienced a tremendous amount of success during his first season of collegiate golf, helping lead the Railsplitters to the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Championship while claiming SAC Freshman of the Year honors. On Sunday, he played a key role for another championship performance, caddying for his dad, Paul Broadhurst, who won the Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie.
 
Paul Broadhurst, who competed for the European team in the 1991 Ryder Cup and was making his first-ever appearance in the Senior Open Championship, overcame an opening-round 75 and played his way back into contention with rounds of 66 and 68. On Sunday, he closed the two-stroke victory with a final-round, four-under par 68. He edged out three-time PGA Tour winner Scott McCarron as well as three-time Champions Tour winner Miguel Angel Jimenez to become the first player to win the Senior Open on their debut since Fred Couples in 2012. Additionally, he became the first English winner on the European Senior Tour this season.
 
With the victory, Broadhurst collected a $279,144 prize, a full PGA Tour Champions exemption through the 2017 season, a spot in the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale and a five-year exemption in the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii.
 
"Just to be a part of the experience of what he did was incredible," Sam said. "Having a front-row seat for what was happening was a moment that I'll never forget. Just to feed off the energy of my dad during the round was unbelievable."
 
Sam Broadhurst received both SAC Freshman of the Year and All-SAC first team distinctions after leading the Railsplitters with a 73.07 stroke average and a .775 win-loss record over the course of 29 rounds and 11 events during his debut season. He accounted for five top-10 finishes and posted three of the four lowest rounds by an LMU player during the 2015-16 season, including an eight-under par 64 in the State Farm Intercollegiate.
 
Broadhurst, who was a semifinalist for the illustrious Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, notched his best finish at the State Farm Intercollegiate with a three-round, 15-under par total of 201, earning sole possession of second place. He also took fourth place in the Tennessee River Rumble with rounds of 77 and 71.
 
Broadhurst was only the second player in program history to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Charlie Hawes did so in 2007. His 73.07 scoring average is the fourth-lowest single-season mark in program history, while only five players have posted a higher win-loss percentage.
 
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