Grab wins, Wofford finishes fifth at Donald Ross Intercollegiate
MORGANTON, N.C. – Wofford’s Jeremy Grab sank a birdie on the par-4 18th, capping a bogey-free, final-round, 3-under-par 67 to win the Donald Ross Intercollegiate on Tuesday afternoon. The tournament was hosted by Appalachian State at the par-70, 6,718-yard Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club.
Wofford finished fifth in the 13-team field. The Terriers put together a team score of 22-over-par 862.
Grab was a tri-champion with Jacksonville’s David Wicks and Franck Medale. The Terrier junior went into Tuesday’s final round four shots behind Medale through 36 holes. Medale began the day at 4-under-par and posted a 1-over 71, getting caught by both Grab and his teammate Wicks. The trio finished the tournament at 3-under-par 207.
The win is the first of Grab’s Wofford career. He finished second at the Camden Collegiate Invitational last fall with the same 54-hole score of 3-under 207, matching his career-low stroke total.
UNCG finishes fifth at Auto Trader Collegiate
DULUTH, Ga. – UNCG men’s golf senior Taylor Coalson and sophomore Josh Stockwell finished in the top 10 at the Auto Trader Collegiate to lead the Spartans to a fifth-place team finish at the Berkeley Hill Golf Club Tuesday.
Coalson led the way as he finished tied for fourth place overall with a 3-under-par 213. He opened the event with a season-low 3-under 69 in round one before posting scores of 70 and 74 in rounds two and three, respectively. The finish mark the third time in four years that Coalson has finished in the top 10 at the Auto Trader Collegiate. He placed second as a junior last season and eighth overall as a freshman. Additionally, his fifth-place finish marked his third straight top-10 finish of the season.
Stockwell picked up his highest finish of the year this week, finishing tied for 10th overall. He posted a 1-under par 215 at the event, including a career-low 4-under-par in round one, trimming one shot off his previous best of 69, set in the final round of the Southern Conference tournament last year. He followed that up with rounds of 75 and 72 to finish in the top 10. His finish marked the second straight top-15 showing this season for Stockwell.
The Spartans, who were defending champions of the Auto Trader Collegiate, finished fifth overall with a 2-over 866. UNCG opened with a season-low 282 in round one before carding a 291 in round two and a 293 in round three.
Lipscomb ran away with the team standings at 25-under 839 (279-274-286), winning by eight strokes over second-place South Florida and 25 strokes over third-place Troy. Dawson Armstrong of Lipscomb won the individual title with a 16-under 200 (65-67-68).
Freshman Bryce Hendrix posted his top finish of his young career, placing tied for 34th overall. Hendrix tallied a 4-over 220 as he notched rounds of 72-76-72. His two even-par 72 rounds are tied for his career low.
Junior Jake McGlone added a 47th-place finish with an 8-over 224 (73-72-79). Freshman James Mishoe rounds out the Spartans lineup in 51st place overall at 9-over 225 (76-74-75).
The Spartans took two individuals to the event in Duluth. Freshman Mark Johnston placed 47th overall with an 8-over 224 (74-76-74), while senior Luke Haithcock added a 78th-place finish at 17-over 223 (74-76-83).
Chattanooga finishes sixth at Auto Trader Collegiate
DULUTH, Ga. – Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf sophomore Andrew Weathers made it a trifecta Tuesday afternoon at Berkeley Hills Country Club. Weathers’ tie for 10th marked the third different UTC golfer to post a top-10 through four events on the year.
Weathers ended up at 1-under-par 215. That put him one ahead of teammate Wes Gosselin, who closed with a 3-under 69 to shoot even for his third event, tying for 16th.
Like Gosselin, Stuart Thomas shot his best round of the tourney with a 71 (-1) Tuesday to end up with a 4-over 220. Kory Webb rounded out the team’s 291 with a 75 (+3). He shot 234 for the 54 holes.
Brooks Thomas struggled with an 82, finishing fourth among the Mocs at 225. Lake Johnson ended with a season-best 73 (+1) to shoot 233 playing as an individual.
The Mocs close out the fall slate Oct. 25-26 at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate.
Mercer finishes 14th at Auto Trader Collegiate
DULUTH, Ga. – The Mercer University men's golf team closed out the final round of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic, hosted by Georgia State, on Tuesday morning at the Berkeley Hills Country Club, finishing with a three-round score of 903 to finish 14th.
Sean Smothers climbed 12 spots on the individual leaderboard with a team-leading 2-over 74 on Tuesday. The junior birdied his first hole of the day before carding a triple-bogey two holes later. However, Smothers would rally from there, shooting even-par over the final 15 holes of golf to close out the tournament with a three-round total of 229.
After carding back-to-back scores of 300 in Monday's opening two rounds, the Bears wrapped up the tournament with 15-over 303 on Tuesday.
Jerry Ren notched the team's hole of the day with his birdie on the 368-yard, par-4 18th hole. After his drive nearly went out of bounds, he rallied with a shot just short of the green. Ren finished No. 18 with a beautiful chip shot that found the center of the hole and led to a fist pump from the Mercer sophomore.
After totaling just 16 birdies through the first two rounds, the Bears had 13 in Tuesday's final round, including a team-best four from Jeffrey Heinicka.
Heinicka's eagle on Monday made him one of just 14 players to tally an eagle in the tournament.
Justin Connelly finished ninth among the tournament's 88 players with 39 holes of par golf.
The Bears will be back in action next Monday, when they travel to Kennesaw, Ga., to compete in the Pinetree Intercollegiate.
Samford finishes seventh at WKU Kenny Perry Invitational
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Samford men’s golf team came in seventh in the WKU Kenny Perry Invitational, hosted by Western Kentucky, Monday and Tuesday.
The tournament, which was held at The Club at Olde Stone, was Samford’s second of the fall season.
As a team, Samford shot a three-day score of 911 (301-304-306). Arkansas State won the tournament, finishing with a total score of 892 (292-298-302).
Individually for Samford, Zach Hughes finished 14th in a field of 67, carding a total score of 224 (75-72-77). Ashton Nix tied for 18th overall, carding a three-round score of 226 (78-74-74). Freshman Aaron Walker tied for 21st, turning in a total score of 228 (70-77-81).
Garrett Moores, playing as an individual, tied for 45th at 236 (83-77-76) for the tournament. Robert Adams tied for 49th with a three-round score of 237 (81-81-75), while Ivan Truss tied for 52nd at 239 (78-81-80).
Samford will return to action, Oct. 19-20, when the Bulldogs compete in the Pine Tree Intercollegiate, hosted by Kennesaw State.