Eagles Conclude Competition at Augusta State Invitational
Georgia Southern was paced by freshman Joe Monte’s even par performance
EVANS, Ga. -- Freshman Joe Monte carded an even-par 144, pacing Georgia Southern golf, Sunday afternoon (Apr. 6), in the second and final round of the 30th annual Administaff Augusta State Invitational played at the par-72, 7,403 yard Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga.
Due to inclement weather, Saturday’s second-round play was suspended for the day and was resumed this morning. Consequently, officials changed the originally-scheduled 54-hole tournament to a 36-hole event, ruling competition as final at the conclusion of the second round.
Finishing tied for 23rd place, Joe Monte (Chantilly, Va.) hit one-over 73 on the day to end the weekend at even-par. His was the best overall score for the Eagles as the team concluded the tournament shooting a 19-over 595, finishing in 17th place. Junior Drew Lethem (Camdenton, Mo.) finished the tournament at 6-over 150, tying for 63rd place. Following tied for 72nd place was junior Jordan Johnstun (Evans, Ga.) and sophomore Spencer Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) at 8-over 152. Fulford shot the team’s lowest round of the day, carding an even-par 72. Freshman Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.) carded a 10-over 154 on the weekend, tying for 82nd place.
Golfweek’s No. 5 ranked UCLA ran away with the title, shooting 24-under 552, 16 strokes better than No. 2 Georgia. The Bruins’ Lucas Lee took home the individual medal at 10-under 134, a pair of strokes better than runner-up Gareth Shaw of East Tennessee State.
Having concluded the regular-season portion of their schedule, head coach Larry Mays and the Eagles will have two weeks to prepare for the next competition -- the Southern Conference Championship, April 20-22, at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C. A league tournament title would give the Eagles an automatic bid to NCAA postseason competition.
“We need to be consistent with all five players getting pumped up and playing the best tournament of the year,” said Mays. “If we line them all up, then we can play really well.”
Team Results (Final)
1 UCLA 284-268=552 (-24)
2 Georgia 290-278=568 (-8)
3 East Tennessee St. 293-276=569 (-7)
4 South Carolina 296-277=573 (-3)
5 North Carolina 286-289=575 (-1)
6 Lamar 287-290=577 (+1)
7 Clemson 296-282=578 (+2)
8 Virginia Tech 295-284=579 (+3)
9 Georgia Tech 288-292=580 (+4)
10 Tennessee 299-282=581 (+5)
11 North Carolina State 289-295=584 (+8)
T12 Augusta State 299-287=586 (+10)
T12 Georgia State 298-288=586 (+10)
14 Minnesota 303-287=590 (+14)
15 Coastal Carolina 301-290=591 (+15)
16 USC-Aiken 291-302=593 (+17)
17 Georgia Southern 298-297=595 (+19)
18 Houston 299-299=598 (+22)
Georgia Southern Individual Results (Final)
T23 Joe Monte 71-73=144 (E)
T63 Drew Lethem 75-75=150 (+6)
T72 Spencer Fulford 80-72=152 (+8)
T72 Jordan Johnstun 75-77=152 (+8)
T82 Logan Blondell 77-77=154 (+10)
Rain Suspends Play at Augusta State
Saturday's round will be resumed Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
EVANS, Ga. -- Due to inclement weather, second round play of the Administaff Augusta State Invitational was suspended for the day and will be resumed Sunday at 9:30 a.m. The tournament will be a 36-hole event and will be considered final at the conclusion of the second round.
Rain halted play at 10:44 a.m. with all 90 players on the course. After nearly a four-hour delay, tournament officials announced the decision to suspend play for the day due to unplayable course conditions. The tournament, originally a 54-hole event, will be considered official after the completion of the second round, making it a 36-hole event.
Only four of the five Eagles competing were able to play three holes on the day.
Fans can follow the remainder of the second and final round online at www.Golfstat.com. Post tournament results and recap will be posted on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
Golf Finishes Round One at Augusta
Joe Monte (-1) paces Georgia Southern (T-12) at Administaff Augusta State Invitational
STATESBORO, Ga. -- Carding a first-round 1-under par, freshman Joe Monte paced Georgia Southern golf, Friday (Apr. 4), in the team’s first round of competition at the 30th annual Administaff Augusta State Invitational played at the par-72, 7,403 yard Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga.
Monte (Chantilly, Va.) sits tied for ninth place, while his team finished the day tied for 12th place shooting a 10-over 298. The Eagles share the 12th spot with No. 45 Georgia State. Monte was the lone Eagle to finish under par in a field that includes 11 of Golfweek magazine’s top 40 teams in the country. He finished the front nine at even par, then birdied holes 17 and 18 to help finish out the day under par, matching a career low.
No. 6 UCLA leads the pack of 18 at 4-under 284, two strokes better than No. 33 North Carolina. Bruin golfer Lucas Lee shares the individual lead with North Carolina’s Chase MacFarland and East Tennessee State’s Gareth Shaw at 3-under par.
Juniors Jordan Johnstun (Evans, Ga.) and Drew Lethem (Camdenton, Mo.) followed Monte with the team’s next best scores, finishing the day at 3-over 75 and are tied for 54th place. Johnstun, competing in his hometown, eagled hole 14. After a rough start on the front nine at 5-over, freshman Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.) hit even-par on the remaining back nine to finish the day shooting a 5-over 77, tying for 69th place. Sophomore Spencer Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) finished the day tied for 85th place after shooting 8-over 80.
Due to the forecast of inclement weather, Saturday's second-round schedule has been altered. Tournament officials will utilize a split-tee format where the top nine teams based on their first-round score will tee off on No. 1 (Palmer). The bottom half of the field will tee off on No. 10 (Player). Georgia Southern will begin teeing off at 9:15 a.m. on the back nine.
Fans can follow the event’s live stats on-line at www.Golfstat.com. End-of-day results and recap will be posted on-line at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
Team Results (Round 1)
1 UCLA 284 (-4)
2 North Carolina 286 (-2)
3 Lamar 287 (-1)
4 Georgia Tech 288 (E)
5 North Carolina State 289 (+1)
6 Georgia 290 (+2)
7 USC-Aiken 291 (+3)
8 East Tennessee St. 293 (+5)
9 Virginia Tech 295 (+7)
T10 South Carolina 296 (+8)
T10 Clemson 296 (+8)
T12 Georgia Southern 298 (+10)
T12 Georgia State 298 (+10)
T14 Tennessee 299 (+11)
T14 Augusta State 299 (+11)
T14 Houston 299 (+11)
17 Coastal Carolina 301 (+13)
18 Minnesota 303 (+15)
Georgia Southern Individual Results (Round 1)
T9 Joe Monte 71 (-1)
T54 Drew Lethem 75 (+3)
T54 Jordan Johnstun 75 (+3)
T69 Logan Blondell 77 (+5)
T85 Spencer Fulford 80 (+8)