MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Senior J.J. Grey shot a final round even par 71 to finish at 6-under and lead Georgia State with a third place finish at the Sun Belt Conference Preview on Sunday. The Panthers shot a final round 9-over 293 to place fourth at 4-over par.
Grey made four birdies during the final round and had a chance to win his fifth career event before a triple bogey six on the 16th hole cost him a chance, finishing just two strokes off the leader.
“We are definitely disappointed with the way we finished today,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We gave ourselves some opportunities with a good number of birdies, but made too many big numbers that we just could not overcome.
“We greatly improved from our first tournament of the year, but we still have some work to do to get us where we truly want to be. J.J. had a nice performance for us this week, but I think he was even disappointed with the way things ended.”
Sophomore Max Herrmann shot a final round 4-over 75 to finish the 54-hole event at 3-over par and tied for 14th. Among the group at 3-over was teammate Nathan Mallonee who shot a final round 74. Mallonee has finished in the top 15 in each of the first two tournaments.
Sophomore Alexander Herrmann added a final round 75 to finish tied for 32nd at 9-over while freshman Nick Budd shot his second-straight 2-over 73 to finish at 14-over and tied for 46th. Redshirt-freshman James Kyles rounded out the line-up with an 8-over 79 to tie with Budd for 46th.
Troy was the lone team to break par on Sunday with a 1-under 283 to run away with the team title, finishing at 12-under par. Georgia Southern finished second at even par, followed by South Alabama in third at 3-over. The Panthers were fourth, followed by UL Lafayette in fifth at 6-over.
South Alabama’s Daniel Jansen shot a final round 4-under 67 to finish at 8-under par and earn low medalist honors. Troy’s Luke Moser finished second at 7-under, followed by Grey in third. UL Lafayette’s Haraldur Magnus and Texas State’s Justin Newby finished tied for fourth at 5-under.
Georgia State will return to action at the Cabo Del Sol Intercollegiate Oct. 4-6 on The Ocean Course in Los Cabos, Mexico.