UNCG finishes eighth at Tiger Invitational
OPELIKA, Ala. – The UNCG men’s golf team placed two individuals in the top 15 and the Spartans finished eighth overall at the Tiger Invitational at the Grand National Lake Course hosted by Auburn University on Tuesday. The Spartans finished just one shot out of fifth place as a team and return to action March 21-22 at the Linger Longer event at the Reynolds Plantation.
Junior Taylor Coalson posted his third top-10 finish of the season, placing ninth overall in the 54-hole event. Coalson finished with a 3-under-par 213 in the three-day event as he opened with a 68 Sunday, posted a 70 Monday and finished with a 3-over-par 75 Tuesday. He carded five bogeys, 11 par scores and two birdies, including one on his final hole of the event.
Senior Roy Dixon finished in a tie for 13th place overall, marking his third top-15 finish of the season. Dixon carded a 1-under-par 215 at the Grand National with an opening round of 75 before carding his lowest score of the week with a 68 in round two. He finished his week with an even-par 72 as he posted 12 par scores, three bogeys and three birdies on holes Nos. 12, 14 and 16.
The Spartans as a team finished in eighth place overall with an 18-over-par 882 (297-288-297). UNCG was just one shot behind a three-way tie for fifth place overall. Tournament host and No. 14 Auburn won the event going away with a 25-under-par 839 (290-273-276) as the Tigers had four players finish in the top six. Michael Johnson of Auburn won the event with an 8-under par 208 (72-66-70), while JJ Grey of Georgia State was second with a 7-under-par 209 (70-69-70).
Freshman Josh Stockwell finished in a tie for 39th overall with an 8-over-par 224 (76-72-76). Stockwell finished seventh overall on the week with 35 par scores in 54 holes while posting three birdies Tuesday on holes Nos. 7, 14 and 16.
Sophomore Jake McGlone moved up 11 spots on the leaderboard in the final round to finish in a tie for 60th overall. McGlone finished with a 14-over-par 230 as he had back-to-back rounds of 78 before posting a 2-over par 74 in round three. Senior Alex Ehlert rounded out the lineup with a 250 score (87-80-83).
Mercer finishes 11th at Tiger Invitational
OPELIKA, Ala. – Senior Trey Rule led all players with a 5-under-par 67 in Tuesday’s final round, helping the Mercer University men’s golf team to its best 18-hole round of the spring. The Bears fired a 1-over-par 289 in the tournament’s closing round, climbing four spots on the final day of action to place 11th overall.
Mercer, which entered the Tuesday in 15th place, shot the fourth-lowest round of the day, dramatically dropping its score for the second round in a row.
Rule secured his fourth top-20 finish of the season with an unblemished scorecard that featured five birdies and no bogeys on Tuesday. He wrapped up the tournament in a tie for 13th place overall with a 1-under 215.
Sean Smothers shot an even-par 72 on the day, moving into a tie for 39th with a total score of 224. Jeffrey Heinicka Jr. fired his best 18 holes of the tournament, a 2-over 74, while Emmanuel Kountakis rounded out the scoring with a 4-over 76.
Mercer will be back in action on Friday, March 13, when it opens up play at Florida State’s Seminole Intercollegiate.
Chattanooga 12th at Tiger Invitational
OPELIKA, Ala. – Sophomore Wes Gosselin fired a 3-under par 69 to close the Tiger Invitational on Tuesday on the Grand National Lake Course. Gosselin tied his career high with seven birdies on his card.
His day started with a bogey on 10. That was quickly followed with a birdie on 11 before a run of three in four holes on 14, 15 and 17, with him making his turn at -3.
Gosselin reached 4-under twice, sandwiching a bogey on 3 with birdies at 2 and 4. He dropped to -2 with bogeys on 5 and 6 before finishing par-birdie-par for his 69.
Liam Johnston also had a strong day for the Mocs, who ended up in 12th in the event, shooting 899. Johnston tallied three birdies and 13 pars against just two bogeys to end his 18 at 1-under. His birds came on two par 5s (4 & 7) as well as the par four 16th.
Ewan Scott was low for the tourney on the squad, tying for 33rd at 6-over (222). Gosselin was next at 226, followed by Kory Webb (229), Johnston (230) and Andrew Weathers (232). Brooks Thomas posted 233 playing as an individual.
No. 14 Auburn ran away with the team title. The Tigers shot 839 to best runner-up Troy (867) by 28. Georgia State was third at 873. It was a clean sweep for the home team as Michael Johnson claimed medalist at 8-under. The Panthers’ J.J. Grey was second at -7.
The Mocs have 11 days until the third tournament of the spring slate. They travel to the Linger Longer Invitational on March 21-22 at Great Waters Golf Club in Eatonton, Ga.
ETSU finishes 12th at General Hackler Championship
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The ETSU men’s golf team wrapped up play at the General Hackler Championship as the 39th-ranked Buccaneers finished 12th, while junior Adrian Meronk led the Blue and Gold for the eighth consecutive tournament on Tuesday at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
The Bucs, who began the day in eighth, dropped four spots after recording a 20-over 308 in the third round and totaled a 54-hole score of 37-over-par 901 (290-303-308).
Meronk, the 18th-ranked golfer via Golfweek, finished his final round with one birdie, one bogey and a double-bogey en route to finishing tied for 21st at 5-over-par 221 (70-77-74).
North Florida overcame a three-shot deficit and defeated NC State as the 25th-ranked Ospreys won the tournament by 12 strokes. UNF was the only team to register a score below par (1-under) on Tuesday and finished the championship at 3-under-par 861 (279-295-287).
The Ospreys also won a share of the individual crown as Joey Petronio, along with Winthrop’s Zach Seabolt and Iowa State’s Nick Voke, all totaled a 54-hole score of 4-under-par 212. Petronio fired a 1-under 71 on Tuesday, while Seabolt and Voke were even-par for the round.
The Bucs also saw senior Tom Heggarty finish tied for 49th, junior Gudmundur Kristjansson tied for 53rd and fellow junior Chris Hickman tied for 59th.
ETSU returns to action this weekend as the Bucs head to Tallahassee, Fla., for the Seminole Intercollegiate, which begins Friday.
Rain washes out final round of Samford Intercollegiate
HOOVER, Ala. – The final round of the 2015 Samford Intercollegiate was rained out Tuesday as incessant thunder storms rolled through the metro Birmingham area. The teams valiantly competed through the heavy waves of rain until approximately 11:20 a.m. (CDT), when conditions became unplayable at Hoover Country Club.
Southern Miss earned the championship title of the Samford Intercollegiate as the Golden Eagles posted a two-round total of 1-under-par 575 (289-286). USM won by 16 strokes over second-place Lipscomb (299-292=591) and tallied a 24-stroke advantage over third-place Arkansas-Little Rock (306-293=599).
Samford carded identical scores of 301 in the opening two rounds of play to finish fourth at the 10-team event with a total score of 602. The Bulldogs’ fourth-place tally proved to be its best of the 2014-15 campaign.
Samford will next be in action March 16-17 at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate being held at the Seveirville Golf Club in Seveirville, Tennessee.
The Bulldogs’ Robert Adams posted a team-best, 36-hole score of 2-over-par 146 (74-72) and finished in fifth place. He ended the event just four strokes behind co-leaders Casey Fernandez (72-70=142) and Hayes Weathersby (74-68=142), both of Southern Miss.
Once play was called, the Golden Eagles’ Fernandez and Weathersby quickly held a first-place tiebreak on hole No. 18, where Weathersby won by concession after Fernandez hit his first shot out of bounds and then his second stroke went into the water hazard.
Samford sophomore Ashton Nix finished among the top 10 players in the tournament. He opened Monday’s competition with a first-round score of 1-under-par 71 before closing out the tournament with a 76. Nix finished just five strokes out of first place.
Fellow sophomore Garrett Moores tallied a two-round total of 152 (79-73) and concluded the tournament tied for 20th place in the event.
Rounding out Samford’s countable team scores were Austin Jackson (77-80=157) and Ivan Truss (80-81=161). Junior Mac Hennessy competed as an individual and turned in a two-round tally of 156 (74-82). The Bulldogs’ Chris Clouser and Jake Miller also played as individuals and carded scores of 163 (80-83) and 172 (87-85), respectively.
Wofford ties for ninth at Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate
AIKEN, S.C. – The Wofford men’s golf team competed in the 18th edition of The Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, earning a tie for ninth place with a three-round total of 18-over-par 858.
Six nationally ranked opponents were featured in the 18-team field. It included the likes of No. 4 USC Aiken, No. 8 South Carolina, No. 19 Virginia, No. 28 Kennesaw State, No. 33 Clemson and No. 43 Georgia Southern. The teams played three rounds in two days at the Cleveland Golf Club in Aiken, playing at par-70, 6,617 yards.
A middle-of-the-pack showing by the Terriers earned them a tie with Maryland. Wofford also finished five strokes ahead of the fourth-ranked host, as well as just one shot back of Georgia Southern.
Sophomore Andrew Novak led the charge for Wofford. A 2-under-par 68 got his tournament started and Novak ultimately earned a top-25, finishing tied for 24th with a 1-over-par 211. The field featured 90 competitors.
Another underclassman, Jeremy Grab, put together Wofford’s second-best performance. Grab, a sophomore, used a final-round 1-under-par 69 to earn a tie for 42nd at 6-over 216. Senior Cory Taylor finished inside the top 50 at 7-over 217.
Seniors Brannan Hudson and Andrew Fowler each carded a 12-over-par 222, earning a tie for 69th.
Eighth-ranked South Carolina (-15) took home the team title by one stroke over 33rd-ranked Clemson. USC’s Will Starke, the 11th-ranked golfer in the country according to GolfStat, beat out the field for the individual title. Starke shot a final-round 3-under 67 to win by a single stroke (-9).
The Terriers have over two weeks before their next tournament, the Furman Intercollegiate, which takes place March 27-29.
Furman finishes 12th at Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate
AIKEN, S.C. – Sophomore Bryce Howell (-6) fired a 66 on Tuesday to tie for fourth to lead the Furman men’s golf team in the final round of the 18th-annual Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at the par-70, 6,617-yard Palmetto Golf Club.
Howell scored six birdies, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 to finish the day three strokes back of individual medalist Will Starke of South Carolina, who posted a three-day total of 65-69-677=201 for the win.
Eighth-ranked South Carolina (-15) put together a three-round total of 270-276-279=825 to beat No. 33 Clemson (-14) by one stroke. No. 19 Virginia (-8) and No. 28 Kennesaw State (-8) tied for third place. The Paladins (+21) finished 12th.
Junior Wehman Hopke (E) birdied No. 14 then eagled the par-4 No. 15 to card a 75 and finish tied for 21st on Tuesday, while junior Preston Cole (+11) birdied No. 18 to tie for 64th after scoring an 81 in the final round. Senior Michael Borton (+16) carded consecutive birdies on No. 14 and 15 for a 79 on Tuesday, tying for 79th, and freshman Harrison Brink (+31) finished the round with a birdie on No. 18 to tie for 89th.
Furman will compete at the Southern Intercollegiate in Augusta, Ga., on March 16.
Western Carolina ties for 16th at Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate
AIKEN, S.C. – Western Carolina senior J.T. Poston carded a final round 1-under-par 69 on Tuesday to place 14th overall at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate hosted by USC Aiken at the par-70, 6,617-yard Palmetto Golf Course. Poston helped the Catamounts jump two spots in the final standings, finishing tied for 16th overall with a three-round tally of 876.
Opening with a bogey on the par-3 16th, Poston charted birdies on three of his next five holes to stand at 2-under-par six holes into his final round. Bogeys on the par-4 fourth and par-3 ninth left him even-par with six holes to play. The Hickory, N.C., product came home with five pars and a birdie on the par-3 11th to finish at 69.
All told, Poston charted a team-best 10 birdies over the 54-hole tournament.
Freshman Bright Julamool finished tied for 55th overall, posting his best round over the two-day event over the final 18 holes with a 1-over-par 71 for a 54-hole score of 219. He advanced 14 positions in the final order, entering the last day tied for 69th.
A second freshman, Jackson Bishop, placed in a tie for 77th overall, matching his classmate, Julamool, with a 1-over-par 71 on Tuesday to shoot 225. Bishop was one of 19 golfers to post an eagle during the 54-hole event, doing so in Monday’s first round.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five were junior Tyler Lail in a tie for 81st (79-74-74=227) and senior Matthew Turner in a tie for 85th (80-77-73=230). Lail matched his second round score of 4-over-par 74, posting a pair of birdies, while Turner turned in his best 18 holes with a 3-over-par 73, penciling in three birdies against six bogeys.
Western Carolina returns to the course for the Southern Intercollegiate, a one-day, 36-hole tournament that is hosted by Georgia at the Athens Country Club in Athens, Ga., on Monday, March 16.