Three Georgia college golf teams hosted tournaments in October, with Kennesaw State the only one of the three to win their home event.
The Owls won the Pinetree Intercollegiate at Pinetree Country Club by a whopping 30-stroke margin after leading by 36 after 36 holes. Neither Georgia State nor Georgia Tech fared nearly as well in their roles as host.
The Panthers placed 7th in the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic at Berkeley Hills, 13 shots behind UNC-Greensboro. The event was reduced to 36 holes when the final round was rained out.
The Yellow Jackets got off to a rocky start and tied for 7th in the U.S. Collegiate Championship at Golf Club of Georgia, 19 shots behind tournament winner Texas.
It was a record-setting win for Kennesaw State at Pinetree, with the Owls setting several team scoring records and freshman Fredrik Niehn breaking individual marks for 18 and 54 holes. Niehn opened the tournament with a 64, the lowest score in team history. The previous record was a 65 by Jimmy Beck of Columbus,set two years ago in the inaugural Pinetree Intercollegiate.
Niehn closed with scores of 70 and 68 for a 14-under 202 total, bettering the old record of 13-under 203 set in 2011 by Matt Nagy. Niehn led a 1-2-3 individual showing by the Owls, with Beck 2nd at 208 (69-69-70) and Evans’ Austin Vick 3rd at 209 (69-68-72). Only two other players in the field broke par for 54 holes.
The Owls opened with a 12-under 276 to lead by 18 shots after the first round, and followed with a 281 total later that day to lead by 36. Kennesaw shot even par 288 the final round, with Liberty reducing the Owls’ margin of victory to 30. Kennesaw’s 19-under 845 total matched the low 54-hole score in relation to par in team history.
Kennesaw placed 3rd in its previous tournament in New Haven, Conn., with the event reduced to 36 holes by inclement weather. The Owls shot a tournament low 280 in the final round to finish at 575, six behind host Yale’s winning total.
Niehn tied for 10th at 142 after a final round 69, with Wyatt Larkin of Morganton T11 at 143. The Owls played the tournament without Beck, the team’s top player.
Georgia State got strong showings at Berkeley Hills from freshman brothers Alexander and Max Hermann, but both players were competing as individuals. Alexander shot back-to-back 70s for a 4-under total to tie for 4th, with Max closing with a 67 to tie for 11th at 142.
The Panthers shot 292-283 for a 1-under 575 total. Of the five Georgia State players in the team’s lineup, Lexington’s Nathan Mallonee was low man, tying for 19th at 144. J.J. Grey was next at 145, followed by Damon Stephenson at 146.
Griffin’s Davin White recovered from an opening 82 to shoot 66 in the afternoon round for a 148 total, matching teammate Gus Wagoner of Duluth.
UNC-Greensboro’s Carter Jenkins shot 69=67—136 to earn medalist honors by two, with Acworth’s Michael Garretson , who plays for South Alabama, tying for 4th at 140.
The Panthers tied for 10th in the Jerry Pate Invitational in Birmingham after a first round in which none of the team’s five players broke 75. No Georgia State golfer cracked the top 25, with Grey and Mallonee carding 68s in the second and third rounds respectively. The Panthers closed out their Fall schedule with another 10th place finish in an event hosted by UNC-Greensboro
Georgia Tech also competed in the Jerry Pate Invitational and finished 6th, 23 shots behind defending national champion Alabama. After shooting 2-under 278 the second round to move into a tie for 2nd,the Yellow Jackets closed with a 293 to fall back in the standings.
Ollie Schniederjans was the only Tech player in the top 25, tying for 2nd at 8-under 202 with scores of 67-67-68, four behind the medalist. Anders Albertson shot 70-71 the first two rounds before struggling the final day and Drew Czuchry of Auburn and freshman James Clark of Columbus both contributed second round 70s.
Dru Love of St. Simons Island helped Alabama to the victory, finishing 5th at 207 highlighted by an opening 65.
No Georgia Tech golfer broke par in the first round of the USCC, as the Jackets shot 296 to fall out of contention. They came back with scores of 285 and 281 to move up to a tie for 7th.
Schniederjans, a senior from Powder Springs making his final college appearance in his home state, shot 68 and 69 the final two days to tie for 6th at 210. Freshmen Jacob Joiner of Leesburg and Chris Petefish both tied for 25th at 217, with Petefish shooting 68 in the final round. Woodstock’s Albertson had a tough tournament in his last Georgia start.
Competing as individuals, Acworth’s Michael Hines tied for 19th at 215 and Clark was T25 at 217.
Texas shot 21-under 843 to win by one over Virginia, which had the top two individual finishers. Derek Bard shot 66-71-64 to finish as medalist at 15-under 201. Teammate Denny McCarthy was 2nd at 207 with scores of 63-72-72.
October was not a good month for Georgia, which was 10th out of 12 teams in the Nike Collegiate at Colonial CC in Ft. Worth and 14th out of 15 in the Tavistock Invitational in Orlando.
The Bulldogs played with four players at Colonial, as No. 1 player Lee McCoy of Clarkesville withdrew with an injury in the first round. Augusta’s Greyson Sigg tied for 11that 217 and Valdosta’s Sepp Straka was T19 at 219.
Straka led Georgia in the Tavistock Cup, tying for 22nd at 214. Both Straka and Peachtree Corners’ Zach Healy shot 69 in the first round for the Bulldogs, who again played without McCoy.
Mercer placed 3rd in the David Toms Intercollegiate in Baton Rouge, shooting a tournament low 286 in the final round. Augusta’s Emmanuel Kountakis led the third round effort with a 66 to finish 2nd at 217, three behind the medalist. Eatonton’s Trey Rule shot a final round 71 to tie for 12th.
The Bears also competed in the rain-shortened AutoTrader.com Invitational at Berkeley Hills, placing 6th at 572 after shooting 286 in both rounds. Kountakis shot 68 in the second round to tie for 4th at 140, with Sean Smothers tying for 9th at 141 and Rule T26 at 145.
Mercer closed out its Fall schedule with a 5th place finish in Greensboro, N.C., shooting 878 to finish 29 behind North Carolina’s winning total. Rule and Kountakis both tied for 10th at 216.
Georgia Southern tied for 4th in the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, hosted by North Carolina State. The Eagles closed with a 282 total to finish at 868.
Scott Wolfes, a senior from St. Simons, tied for 6th at 212 with scores of 70-69-73. Alpharetta’s Matt Mierzejewski closed with a 69 to tie for 15th at 216.