Georgia Southern captured its first-ever title in the Schenkel Invitational, winning the tournament at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro against a strong field.
The Schenkel is one of the longest-running tournaments in college golf, with the Eagles finally winning the event, which was played for the 35th time this year.
The team dedicated the victory to Angela Sharkey, whose son Thomas was a member of the Georgia Southern golf team when he died in a house fire in his family’s home in Scotland in 2011. Thomas Sharkey would have been a senior this year.
The Eagles won the tournament by eight strokes over UAB, finishing with a 14-under 850 total. Georgia Southern shot a tournament low 276 in the second round to take a 4-shot lead into the final day, and expanded its lead, shooting 288 in rainy conditions.
Scott Wolfes, a junior from St. Simons, was the tournament medalist, with scores of 71-70-68—209. His final round 68 was the best in the field by two strokes and enabled him to erase a 3-stroke deficit after 36 holes.
The Eagles’ 12-under 276 total the second day was highlighted by a pair of aces from seniors Will Evans and Hayden Anderson. Evans, a McDonough resident, scored his hole-in-one on the sixth hole at Forest Heights, and finished in a tie for 4th at 213 with scores of 69-71-73. Anderson aced the 13th hole and shot 67, the Eagles’ low score for the tournament.
Charlie Martin, a junior from LaGrange, tied for 6th for the Eagles at 214, including a second round 68. Griffin’s Henry Mabbett, competing as an individual for Georgia Southern, tied Evans for 4th at 213, shooting 70-72-71.
Georgia State finished 7th in the Schenkel at 871 in a field that featured four of the country’s top 15 teams and included Texas and three teams each from the ACC and SEC. The Panthers shot a tournament best 273 in the second round, the second lowest score in team history.
Alpharetta senior Tyler Gruca and Jonathan Grey led the Panthers, tying for 22nd at 218. Gruca opened with scores of 72-68 and Grey contributed a 68 in the second round. Davin White, a junior from Griffin, shot 67 in the second round and freshman Nathan Mallonee of Lexington added a 70 to round out the team’s scoring that day.
Also winning a tournament that weekend was Mercer, which won the Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State in Tallahassee. The Bears finished with an 8-under 856 total to finish six shots ahead of FSU.
Mercer took the lead with an opening day score of 282, and shot 279 in the morning round of the 36-hole finish to lead by eight going to the final round.
The Bears were led by seniors Hans Reimers and James Beale, who placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the individual competition. Reimers finished at 211, one behind the tournament medalist, with scores of 70-68-73. Beale tied for 3rd at 71-70-72—213.
Eatonton junior Trey Rule shot 69-72-75 and tied for 12th at 216, with freshman Emmanuel Kountakis of Augusta tying for 21st at 219. Fellow freshman Sean Smothers contributed scores of 72 and 70 the first two rounds.
Playing against one of the strongest fields in college golf on a difficult course in windy conditions, both Georgia and Georgia Tech finished off the pace in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.
The Bulldogs placed 6th in the 15-team field, shooting 289 the final day to finish with a 300 total, 14 behind UNLV’s winning score. Joey Garber led the Bulldogs, tying for 17th at 223 after a final round 69. Clarkesville’s Lee McCoy closed with a 71 for a 228 total.
The Yellow Jackets never broke 300 and ended up 12th at 917. A final round 70 gave Ollie Schniederjans a tie for 12th at 222, with Seth Reeves T26 at 226.
Kennesaw State scored back-to-back 2nd place finishes in tournaments played at Colleton River in Bluffton, S.C., and the Robert Trent Jones Trail Grand National Lakes Course in Opelika, Ala.
The Owls finished one shot behind Winthrop at Colleton River with an 875 total after being tied for the lead with an opening round of 284. Jimmy Beck of Columbus shot 69 for the Owls in the first round but followed with a pair of 77s. Teremoana Beaucousin was low for Kennesaw, taking 3rd at 218, with freshman Chris Guglielmo of Cumming tying for 4th at 219.
Host Auburn won at Grand National with a 22-under score of 842, 19 shots ahead of the Owls, who posted scores of 288, 286 and 287. Beck tied for 5th at 211, highlighted by a second round 66. Beaucousin tied for 9th at 215, with Evans’ Austin Vick T17 at 219 including a pair of 71s.
Georgia Southern opened March with a 6th place finish in the Samford Intercollegiate in Birmingham. The Eagles shot 291 the final day for a 314 total. Martin shot a final round 68 to tie for 5th at 222 and Wolfes recovered to post a top-20 finish after a tough first round in difficult conditions.
Mercer tied for 4th in an event hosted by South Florida, shooting 24-under to finish 17 strokes behind Florida State’s winning total. The Bears played consistently with scores of 280-282-278.
Beale led Mercer, closing with scores of 67 and 66 to tie for 5th at 10-under 206. Kountakis opened with a 65 and placed 15th at 210, with Rule tying for 31st at 214.
Georgia State and Augusta State both competed in the Palmetto Intercollegiate at historic Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C., with the Panthers tying for 4th and the Jaguars tying for 6th.
The Panthers shot 289 the final day for an 874 total, 20 behind Clemson’s winning score. Grey led Georgia State, tying for 9th at 216 after closing with a 68. White tied for 14th at 217, with Mallonee T28 at 221.
Augusta shot 287 in the final round for an 876 total. The Jaguars earlier won a limited field, one day tournament at Forest Hills, the team’s home course. Augusta shot 594 to win by seven strokes. Meechai Padung shot 74-69—143 to earn medalist honors.
WOMEN’S UPDATE:
Mercer and Georgia State both scored runner-up finishes in recent tournaments. Mercer placed 2nd in the Lady Jaguar Invitational, hosted by Augusta State at Forest Hills, and Georgia State took 2nd in a tournament in Orange Park, Fla.
Mercer was led by Lacey Fears, a senior from Bonaire, who shot 73-70-74 for a 1-over 217 total, four shots ahead of the 2nd place finisher. Katy Harris, a freshman from St. Simons, shot a second round 69 and tied for 23rd at 231. Mercer, which finished 10 shots behind Vanderbilt at 906, led the tournament by one stroke after 36 holes.
Host Augusta State was 6th at 926, led by freshman Eunice Yi of Evans, who tied for 15th at 228. Her second round 69 was the low score for the tournament, which concluded with a 36-hole final day.
Georgia State held a 3-shot lead after 36 holes in Orange Park, but was overtaken by Elon in the final round, ending up four shots back with an 896 total. Maria Palacios was second for the Lady Panthers at 218, with Lawrenceville’s Lauren Court tying for 8th at 222. Court shot 71 in the first round, highlighted by a hole-in-one.
In other college news… Armstrong Atlantic placed 3rd and host Valdosta State was 4th in the Southeastern Collegiate, played at Kinderlou Forest in Valdosta. Bryan Fox of Roswell, who plays for Georgia College, was 2nd individually at 211, one behind the tournament medalist. Fox shot 69-71-71. Armstrong’s Cory Griffin, who won the 2013 Georgia PGA Atlanta Open, tied for 5th at 216.
Roswell’s Lauren Judson helped lead Southern Mississippi’s women’s team to victory in the Lady Eagle Invitational, hosted by Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Judson tied for 16th at 156.