Mocs Beat Two Top 15 Teams to Finish Second at Linger Longer Invitational

Stephan Jaeger claims top 5 tying season-best total of -5, 211

GREENSBORO, Ga.---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga beat two top 15 programs in finishing second at the Linger Longer Invitational on the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Plantation.  Chattanooga shot a 54-hole total of 864, even par.

The Mocs beat No. 13 Georgia and No. 15 Stanford by two shots and the two national powers ended up tied for third at two-over par, 866.  Florida State, 2010 NCAA semi-finalist, wound up fifth at 872 (+8), eight shots behind UTC.

"I'm really proud of the effort," said head coach Mark Guhne.  "We went toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country, and my young guys are showing we belong.

"Nobody was beating Alabama this week with the way their top two played," added Guhne.  "It's special to get wins over Georgia and Stanford.  Those are two teams that will be deciding the national championship this year.  It has to give us confidence knowing we can compete on that level."

No. 4 Alabama ran away with the team title shooting 18 under, 846.  The Crimson Tide was led by medalist Cory Whitsett at minus 13, 203.  He won individual honors in a shootout over teammate Bud Cauley who lost by a single stroke at 204 (-12).  The duo combined to shoot 25-under par to carry Alabama to the win.

Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger (Munich, Germany) tied for fourth shooting 211 (-5), which ties his season-best total.  Jaeger was matched in fourth by Stanford's Andrew Yun and Georgia's Hudson Swafford who are ranked No. 6 and No. 80 in the nation, respectively.

Jaeger not only tied two nationally-ranked players, he also beat five more headlined by No. 47 Russell Henley of UGA by eight strokes.  It is his second top five of the year and third top 10.

Benni Weilguni (Langelois, Austria) tied for ninth at one-under par 215.  It's Weilguni's third top 10 all coming in the last four events.

Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.) had the low round of the day for Chattanooga with a 71 (-1).  He finished tied for 13th with two par or better rounds in shooting plus two, 218.

Chris Robb (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) tied for 32nd with a three-day mark of 224 (+8). He shot one stroke better than Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) who rounded out the UTC results tying for 36th at 225 (+9).  Chattanooga was the lone team to have all five golfers in the top 40.

The Mocs are back in action this weekend at the LSU National Invitational. The tournament is 54 holes with 36 holes on Saturday, April 2, and a final 18 on Sunday, April 3.  It is being played at the University Club and live scoring can be found on GoMocs.com.

LEADERBOARD

1) No. 4 Alabama	284-278-284	846 (-18)
2) Chattanooga	284-289-291	864 (E)
T3) No. 15 Stanford	289-286-291	866 (+2)
T3) No. 13 Georgia	291-289-286	866 (+2)
5) Florida State	296-288-288	872 (+8)
T6) Kennesaw State	291-297-290	878 (+14)
T6) Charlotte	295-291-292	878 (+14)
8) Memphis	298-287-294	879 (+15)
9) Coastal Carolina	300-298-292	890 (+26)
10) Mercer	300-307-291	898 (+34)
11) Jacksonville	309-292-302	903 (+39)
12) Furman	307-304-297	908 (+44)
13) Appalachian State	309-308-309	926 (+62)
Mocs:
T4) Stephan Jaeger	69-69-73	211 (-5)
T9) Benni Weilguni	69-70-76	215 (-1)
T13) Steven Fox	72-75-71	218 (+2)
T32) Chris Robb	74-77-73	224 (+8)
T36) Davis Bunn	76-75-74	225 (+9)

 

Men's Golf Wraps Up Georgia Tournament

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's golf remained consistent through all three rounds at the Linger Longer Invitational with a 309-308-309=926 (+62) to place 13th in the event.

Colin Hobbs paced the Mountaineers with a 76 in each round to finish 48th at 228 (+12), followed by Josh Nichols in 53rd place at 77-78-74=229 (+13).

Dustin Hudson finished 65th at 78-77-79=234 (+18), just ahead of Darren Cook, who carded a 78-77-81=236 (+20) for 67th.

Daniel Walsh rounded out the Apps at 91-84-80=255 (+39), good for 74th.

Alabama easily took the team title in a strong field with an 18-under-par 846. The Crimson Tide also produced the top two individuals, including medalist Cory Whitsett at 203 (-13).

Two other Southern Conference teams competed, as Chattanooga placed second with an even-par 864 and Furman finished 12th at 908 (+44). Georgia, Stanford and Florida State rounded out the top five.

Appalachian returns to competition on April 11-12 at the Wofford Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C.

 

Furman Finishes 12th At Linger Longer Invitational

Greensboro, Ga. - Three golfers fired a final round 74 to help Furman (307-304-297=908) to a nine-over 297 and 12th place finish on Tuesday in the Linger Longer Invitational at the par-72 Reynolds Plantation-Great Waters Golf Course in Greensboro, Ga.

Matt Broome used an eagle at the par-four No. 11 to fire a two-over 74 while Greg Carrier and J.B. Murphy followed solid second rounds with each carding a 74 on Tuesday.  Carrier birdied two holes to finish in 36th place while Murphy notched four final round birdies to place 40th.

After shooting 41 over his first nine holes, junior Anthony Aloi recorded three birdies in a four-hole stretch to finish with a three-over par 75.  Aloi grabbed a share of 28th place.

Cory Whitsett (-13) and Bud Cauley (-12) of The University of Alabama (-18) finished first and second, respectively, to lead the Crimson Tide to the tournament title.  Alabama, four-under on the day, finished 18 strokes ahead of second place Chattanooga (E) while Georgia and Stanford tied for fourth place at (+2).  Florida State rounded out the top five in the 12-team field at eight-over par.

Furman returns to action April 17-19, at the Southern Conference Championships in Florence, S.C.

12      Furman  307     304     297     908

T28     Anthony Aloi    72      76      75      223

T36     Greg Carrier    77      74      74      225

T40     J.B. Murphy     79      73      74      226

70      Matt Broome     86      81      74      241

71      Matt Brown      79      87      79      245

 

SAMFORD MEN'S GOLF EARNS NINTH-PLACE FINISH AT JSU GRUB MART INTERCOLLEGIATE

--- The Bulldogs improve a position on the final day of the three-round competition ---

ODENVILLE, Ala. --- The Samford University men's golf team placed ninth at the 2011 Jacksonville State University Grub Mart-Young Oil Intercollegiate on Tuesday as the Bulldogs carded a final team score of 895 (300-293-302) at the Silver Lakes Golf Club.

Samford entered the final round of competition tied for 10th place in the tournament, but fired a third-round score of 302 to improve to ninth place. The Bulldogs' best round of the two-day competition occurred Monday as they registered a team score of 293 in the second round of action.

Sophomore Drew Aimone finished the 2011 JSU Grub Mart -Young Oil Intercollegiate tied for 13th place in the individual standings. The Bulldogs' native of Savannah, Ga., concluded the 54-hole tournament with a 3-over-par 219 (73-71-75). Aimone paced Samford in the competition and turned in a low-round total of 71 on Monday.

Along with Aimone's team-best performance of 219, fellow sophomore Casey O'Toole carded a 54-hole score of 224 (76-75-73) to finish tied for 33rd place. O'Toole, the Bulldogs' native of Oneonta, improved in every round of the tournament and tallied the team's best score Tuesday with a 1-over-par 73 as he catapulted Samford to its ninth-place finish.

The Bulldogs' Martin Bunt concluded the tournament with a three-round mark of 226 (76-72-78), while sophomores Bill Nabors and Gabe Hyde rounded out the team's scoring with totals of 230 (75-79-76) and 235 (82-75-78), respectively.

Host-school Jacksonville State earned the championship title of the Grub Mart-Young Oil Intercollegiate on Tuesday with a final team score of 864 (285-286-293). The Gamecocks finished seven strokes ahead of second-place Eastern Kentucky (290-285-296 = 871), while Nicholls State (297-285-291 = 873), Austin Peay (289-280-310 = 879) and Belmont (291-291-299 = 881) rounded out the top five.

In the final individual standings, Jacksonville State's Tom Robson, Nicholls State's Kristjan Einarsson and Georgia Tech's Seth Reeves all finished tied for first place with identical scores of 3-under-par 213. Samford's William Catanzaro and Tyler Baird also competed as individuals this week and finished with scores of 226 (77-71-78) and 242 (86-78-78), respectively.

The Samford University men's golf team will next be in action April 11-12 as the Bulldogs head east to Spartanburg, S.C., for the 2011 Wofford Invitational to be held at the Country Club of Spartanburg.

 

Golf Concludes Play at Hootie

AWENDAW, S.C. - The College of Charleston Men's Golf team wrapped up competition at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate Tournament on Tuesday.

The Cougars finished in 15th place with a total score of 912 (+60) in an extremely competitive field. LSU won the team title and North Carolina State's Mitchell Sutton won individual honors.

Junior Seth Stuart was the Cougars top finisher with a 10-over 223 to land him in 51st place. Senior Coy Breen rebounded from his opening round 82 to come back and shoot 73-72 over the next two rounds to finish with a 14-over 227 for 57th place.

Up next the Cougars will travel to the home state of many athletes on the team as they compete at the Jim West Intercollegiate April 10-12 at Victoria Country Club in Victoria, Texas.