The Georgia and Georgia Southern golf teams both scored recent victories, while Georgia Tech ascended to the No. 1 national ranking by Golfstat before suffered through a tough weekend in a tournament hosted by the Yellow Jackets.
GEORGIA picked up its second title of the Fall season, winning an event at Crooked Stick in Indiana hosted by Purdue. The Bulldogs won with a 3-over 867 total on the major championship course, one shot ahead of SEC rival Vanderbilt.
The two teams were close throughout the tournament, sharing the lead after 18 holes at 5-under 283, with Georgia moving ahead by two following a second round 289. The bulldogs closed with a score of 7-over 295 on the demanding Pete Dye layout.
Georgia was led by senior Callum Masters, who was second individually at 5-under 211, highlighted by a final round 68. He finished one shot behind the medalist. No other player in the field shot lower than 71 in gusty winds the final day.
Davis Thompson, a junior from St. Simons Island, was fourth at 213, with a double bogey at the 18th hole in the final round dropping him out of a tie for second. Thompson opened with scores of 68 and 71. Gainesville senior Spencer Ralston gave Georgia a third top-10 finisher, placing eighth at 217. Ralston was among the leaders after back-to-back scores of 70 the first day, but struggled in the windy conditions the next day.
The Bulldogs placed eighth in a 15-team field in the Nike Invitational at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, a course designed by the late Atlanta-based architect Bob Cupp. The Bulldogs shot 2-under 850, led by Thompson, who tied for sixth at 7-under 206 with scores of 67-66-73.
Sophomore Trent Phillips was the only other Georgia golfer to finish better than 46th, tying for 10th at 208 after back-to-back scores of 67 the first two rounds. The two were second and fourth respectively after 36 holes.
The Bulldogs, who won a tournament last month in Louisiana, close out their Fall season Nov. 1-3 in Hawaii.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN won a duel with South Carolina in the J.T. Poston Invitational played at Sapphire Valley in Cashiers, N.C., finishing with a 47-under total of 805 to edge the Gamecocks by one shot.
The Eagles shot 19-under 265 to lead by eight after the first round and remained three ahead after a score of 273 later that day. They closed with a 267 in the final round to hold off the Gamecocks.
Four Georgia Southern golfers finished in the top 10 led by sophomore Mason Williams, who tied for second at 13-under 200 with scores of 66-67-67. He finished one shot behind the medalist from South Carolina.
Brett Barron, a senior from Cumming, shot 68-68-67—203 to tie for fourth, with Columbus sophomore Ben Carr tying for seventh at 204 with scores of 71-67-66. With his teammates all shooting 68 or lower the first round, Carr’s even par score did not count, but he was the team’s low man in the final round, with his birdie on the 18th hole providing the Eagles’ winning margin. Along with Carr’s closing 66, the team’s other three counting scores the final day were all 67s.
Jake Maples, a senior from McDonough, led the Eagles with an opening 65 and shot 67 in the final round to place ninth at 205. Colin Bowles, a sophomore from Albany, shot 66 in the opening round and his 71 later that day was the highest counting score for the Eagles in the tournament.
The Eagles did not play well in their next event at Notre Dame, placing 13th out of 14 teams. Carr tied for 19th, the only Georgia Southern golfer to finish better than 40th. The Eagles close out their Fall schedule Nov. 1-3 in the Bahamas.
GEORGIA TECH won its Fall opener at The Farm and shared a title in its second start in Chicago to move up to No. 1 in the country in the most recent Golfstat ranking. But the Yellow Jackets finished a disappointing 10th over the weekend in a 14-team field in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, an event hosted by Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets shot 11-over 875, 13 strokes behind Duke’s winning total of 862. Chandler Eaton, a senior from Alpharetta, was low for Duke in the final round with a 2-under 70. Tech shot 301 in cold, rainy, gusty conditions the second day to drop out of contention before shooting 4-under 284 the final day.
Duke’s 291 was the low score the second day, with first round leader Pepperdine shooting the day’s high score Saturday before again shooting the low score in the final round,. Pepperdine finished two shots behind Duke.
Senior Tyler Strafaci led Tech, placing fifth at 4-under 212 with scores of 73-71-68. He finished three shots behind the co-medalists, with UCLA’s Eddy Lai’s 69 the low score the second day. Lai and Texas A&M’s William Paysse tied for first at 209.
Georgia Tech’s Luke Schniederjans, a senior from Powder Springs, shot a final round 68 to tie for 24th at 219. Senior Andy Ogletree shot 69 the first day, but his score Saturday did not count, and he wound up tied for 35th at 221.
Georgia Tech’s final start of the Fall is next week at Cypress Point in northern California.
GEORGIA STATE finished eighth of 13 teams in the annual Autotrader Collegiate hosted by the Panthers at Berkeley Hills.
Led by grad student Ashton Poole’s opening 6-under 66, the Panthers shot 3-under 285 to stand fourth after the first round, but shot over par the next two rounds and finished at 6-over 870. Poole shared the lead after his 66, but fell back to a tie for 17th at 216. Senior Josh Edgar tied for 26th at 219, with freshman Will Chambless of Culloden contributing a first round 71 and a final round 73.
James Madison won the tournament at 20-under 844, five shots ahead of Lipscomb. Nolan Ray of Lipscomb shot 202 to earn medalist honors by four. Atlanta’s Alex Ross, a junior at Davidson, tied for fourth at 209 with a final round 65.
The Panthers were eighth of 12 teams in a tournament played at former U.S. Open host Erin Hills outside Milwaukee, closing with a 2-under 286. Poole tied for seventh at 3-under 213, opening with scores of 69-69, with Edgar tying for 10th at 215 after a 68 in the third round.
Georgia State closes out the Fall playing in the same tournament as Georgia Southern in the Bahamas Nov. 1-3.
MERCER also competed in the Autotrader Collegiate at Berkeley Hills, placing sixth at 2-over 866. After shooting 300 in the first round, the Bears cut 24 shots off their score in the afternoon, posting a tournament best total of 12-under 276. They shot 290 the next day to drop two spots in the standings.
Sophomore Martin Plukka led the Bears, tying for 13th at 215 incuding a second round 67. Spencer Ball, a senior from Cumming, closed with scores of 68 and 71 to tie for 17th at 216, with junior Lino Galdin T21 at 217.
The Bears tied for 10th in Murfreesboro, Tenn., with the team’s top individual finish a tie for 29th. Mercer returns to the Atlanta area this week to play in the Pinetree Invitational hosted by Kennesaw State. The tournament will be played Monday and Tuesday.
Kennesaw State played in the tournament at Sapphire Valley won by Georgia Southern, with the Owls tying for 10th at 2-under 850. Preston Topper, a freshman from Suwanee, shot 66-69-73—208 to tie for 16th. Brock Healy, a sophomore from Norcross, and Brady Keran, a junior from Canton, shot 68 and 69 the first round as the Owls opened with a score of 7-under 277.
After hosting the Pinetree Invitational Monday and Tuesday, the Owls play this weekend in Loxley, Ala.
Augusta placed sixth of 15 teams in Raleigh, N.C., shooting 1-under 863 to finish 21 strokes behind host North Carolina State. Freshman Ben Van Wyk tied for 12th for the Jaguars at 212, with Sea Island senior McCullough Pickens contributing a second round 69.
Benjamin Shipp, a senior from Duluth, tied for eighth at 210 to help lead NC State to its victory. Keller Harper, a senior from Atlanta, led Furman to a tie for third, shooting 65 in the final round to tie for fifth individually at 209.