Mercer finishes sixth at Linger Longer Invitational
EATONTON, Ga. – Mercer University’s Emmanuel Kountakis and Trey Rule tied for fourth place overall to lead the men’s golf team to a sixth-place at the Linger Longer Invitational this weekend.
The Bears finished the tournament with a 5-under-par total of 859, the program’s top three-round score of the season. Mercer shot a 2-over 290 in the closing round, defeating top-30 programs Alabama and Clemson as well as Southern Conference opponents Chattanooga and UNCG. No. 3 Texas claimed the team title, while Georgia and Kennesaw State rounded out the top three.
Kountakis fired a 3-under 69 to pace the Bears on Sunday, moving up eight spots for his best score of the season, an 8-under 208. Rule had his best tournament of 2014-15 as well, carding a 1-under 71 on the final day to match his teammate with an 8-under 208.
Jerry Ren finished third on the squad in the closing round of play, tallying an even-par 72 to place 66th overall with a total score of 224. Sean Smothers carded a 78 this afternoon en route to 47th-place with a tournament total of 219, while Jeffrey Heinicka Jr. finished with 240 strokes on the weekend.
The Bears will be back in action on April 3-5 at Vanderbilt’s Mason Rudolph Championship at the Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
Chattanooga finishes 14th at Linger Longer
EATONTON, Ga. – Wes Gosselin tied his career-best 18 with a 5-under-par 67 for the Chattanooga Mocs on Sunday on Great Waters Golf Course. Gosselin turned in six birdies, 11 pars and a single birdie on his card, which ties for the second-lowest round of the season for the squad.
Chattanooga finished 14th in this year’s Linger Longer Invitational. Gosselin and Liam Johnston ended up at 1-over to lead the way. Ewan Scott (+7), Brooks Thomas (+8) Kory Webb (+16) joined to combine for an 881 total which was four ahead of UNCG.
Gosselin and Johnston were 7-under Sunday as Johnston shot 70 (-2). They led the Mocs to a 294 (+6) Sunday. Scott tallied a 78, with Thomas and Webb settling for 79s.
Gosselin opened with a par on 17 in a shotgun start. Birdies and 18, 2, 6 and 7 got him to 4-under before his only blemish, a bogey on 9. He bounced back to birdie 11 and 15 for his 67.
Johnston bogeyed 16 on his first hole of the day. He rang up three birdies in a row on 18, 1 and 2 before bogeys at 4 and 7 to drop back to even. Birdies at 12 and 15 closed his round as he signed for a 2-under 70.
No. 3 Texas (840) claimed a five-shot win over defending champ Georgia (845). No. 25 Kennesaw State (847) and No. 20 North Carolina (847) tied for third another two strokes back. The Bulldogs’ Lee McCoy’s 14-under earned medalist honors, matching Gosselin’s 67. Beau Hossler (Texas) was second at 12-under.
It’s a quick turnaround for Chattanooga. The Mocs head to Greenville, S.C., for the Furman Intercollegiate. The tourney starts Friday and ends Sunday with 18 holes per day.
UNCG finishes 15th at Linger Longer
EATONTON, Ga. – The UNCG men’s golf team closed out the prestigious Linger Longer Invitational, co-hosted by Kennessaw State and Mercer, on Sunday with a 15th-place finish in the field that included 14 teams ranked in the top 100 and seven ranked in the top 50 at the Great Waters and Reynolds Plantation.
The 62nd-ranked Spartans return to action April 6-7 at the Old Waverley Collegiate in Mississippi.
The Spartans’ 21-over-par 885 team score placed 15th overall, while No. 3 Texas won the event with a 24-under-par 840 (273-284-283), winning by five strokes over No. 35 Georgia. UNCG had its toughest round of the season, posting a 308 score after opening with scores of 288 and 289. Lee McCoy, the 10th-ranked golfer in the nation playing for Georgia, won the individual event with a 14-under-par 202 (65-70-67), winning by two strokes over No. 11 Beau Hossler of Texas at 12-under-par 204 (67-69-68).
Senior Roy Dixon was the Spartans’ top finisher, placing in a tie for 19 overall. Dixon carded a 1-under-par 215 score on the weekend as he opened with a 2-under-par 70 in round one, a 1-over-par 73 in round two and an even-par 72 Sunday. He tallied 16 par scores Sunday to go along with one bogey and one birdie on hole No. 2.
Junior Taylor Coalson finished tied for 53rd overall with a 4-over-par 220. Coalson had a strong first two rounds at 1-under-par 71 and even-par 72 Saturday but notched a 5-over-par 77 in round three. His 77 score was his highest total in the last 10 rounds of the season.
Freshman Josh Stockwell also had a tough end to the tournament as he finished 66th overall with an 8-over-par 224. Stockwell opened with scores of 73 and 71 Saturday but turned in an 8-over-par 80 in the final round. His final-round score was his highest total in the last 12 rounds of the year, dating back to the fall for the freshman.
Sophomore Jake McGlone added a 73rd-place finish with a 10-over-par 226 (74-73-79), while junior Luke Haithcock rounded out the lineup with a 17-over-par 233 (75-77-81).