Eagles Finish in a Tie for Seventh Place at Landfall
Georgia Southern shoots lowest round of the day
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Georgia Southern carded the lowest round of the day, and second-lowest round of the Landfall Tradition, with a 289 during the final round on Sunday (Oct. 26). That propelled the Eagles into a tie for seventh place overall. The tournament was played on the Nicklaus Course at the Country Club of Landfall.
Led by Logan Blondell's 71, Georgia Southern finished with a 917 - just three strokes back of fourth place. Iowa jumped out to an early lead after round one and held on for a 12-stroke victory. Tulsa (900) finished second with Virginia Commonwealth in third at 908.
Virginia Tech carded a 914, host UNC Wilmington was a stoke behind at 915 and Xavier finished with 916. The Eagles tied with William & Mary.
East Carolina (918), Wisconsin (927), Davidson (930) and Western Kentucky (970) rounded out the field.
"We played well today. All five guys shot well in the match which is a good feeling. I'm still disappointed on how we started but I feel better about our finish. I was happy to see our guys shoot the lowest round of the day," said head coach Larry Mays. "Today we seemed more focused. We had our backs against the wall and we knew we needed to come through today."
Blondell shot a 224 on the weekend, tying for ninth overall. The sophomore finished among the 'Top 10' in three of his four tournaments played this fall. Senior Drew Lethem shot a third round 72 and 229 overall, tying for 22nd. He had all 14 of his rounds count in team scoring this fall, the only Eagle to do so.
Ryan LeFevre and Spencer Fulford both shot a final round 74 to finish at 232 and 237, respectively. LeFevre tied for 29th while Fulford tied for 42nd. Jordan Johnstun shot an even-par 72 on the final day and tied for 45th overall with a 238.
Georgia Southern finished its fall season with two tournament victories and a dual record of 44-17-2. The Eagles have nearly matched their win total from the 2007-08 season (dual record of 45-95-3).
"We had 3-4 guys play solid all fall, there was a lot more consistency in the lineup. I think our guys had a lot looser feeling on the course, went out and played more confident, and had confidence in their teammates as well," said Mays.
The Eagles resume their schedule in February 2009 at the Gator Invitational.
Final Round of the Landfall Tradition
Par: 72
1. Iowa (286-312-290) 888
2. Tulsa (308-301-291) 900
3. VCU (310-307-291) 908
4. Virginia Tech (313-308-293) 914
5. UNC Wilmington (313-302-300) 915
6. Xavier (309-309-298) 916
T7. Georgia Southern (314-314-289) 917
T7. William & Mary (310-313-294) 917
9. East Carolina (309-315-294) 918
10. Wisconsin (317-316-294) 927
11. Davidson (312-317-301) 930
12. Western Kentucky (324-336-310) 970
Georgia Southern Individuals
T9. Logan Blondell (76-77-71) 224 +8
T22. Drew Lethem (82-75-72) 229 +13
T29. Ryan LeFevre (75-83-74) 232 +16
T42. Spencer Fulford (84-79-74) 237 +21
T45. Jordan Johnstun (81-85-72) 238 +22
Davidson Closes Out Fall Season With 11th Place Finish at Landfall Tradition
WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Davidson men’s golf team turned their best score of the tournament when they fired a final-round 301 at the Landfall Tradition to finish in 11th place as a team in the tournament, held at the Country Club of Landfall’s Jack Nicklaus Course.
After beginning the tournament with a first-round 312, followed by a second-round 317, the Wildcats came into Sunday’s play in tenth place overall. They then shot one of the lowest scores of the final 18 holes to finish the tournament with a total score of 66-over par 930, 40 shots ahead of 12-place Western Kentucky.
Leading the way for Davidson was senior Michael Saari, who followed up his win in the Davidson Invitational last week with a tie for 26th among individuals, firing a final-round 73 to finish the tournament at with a score of 231. He was joined in the top 35 by Christopher Rollins, who brought home a tie for 32nd place with his score of 233.
All five of the Wildcats in competition in the tournament finished in the top 50 out of the entire field, including Jackson Taylor and David Fowler’s 37th-place finishes with dual scores of 236, and Adam Lewicki’s 243, good for a tie for 49th.
The team title was won by the University of Iowa, who ended with a 24-over 888 on their way to a first-place finish, and also placed three players in the top seven individual finishers. Iowa wound up 12 shots better than second-place Tulsa at 900. VCU came in third at 908, Virginia Tech finished fourth at 914 and host UNC Wilmington was fifth with a 915 score. VCU’s Rafael Campos shot a final round 1-under 71 to take home medalist honors in the men’s competition with a 54-hole total of 217.
With the conclusion of this tournament, the Wildcats close out the fall portion of their 2008-09 season. They finished in the top-ten in three of the four tournaments they competed in, with a top finish of fourth at the Davidson Invitational, in which Saari brought home the team’s first individual medalist honors. They will return to action in February when they head down to Hilton Head, S.C. to compete in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate. The spring season-opener is scheduled to take place Feb. 23-24.