BATON ROUGE – Led by junior Alex Herrmann who finished tied for 12th, Georgia State finished in ninth place at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional at the University Club on Wednesday. The Panthers, making their fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance, shot a final round 303 to finish at 42-over par.
Herrmann birdied his 16th and 17th holes and needed a birdie on his last hole to force a playoff for the lone individual spot advancing to next week’s NCAA Championship. After hitting his second shot in the bunker, his approach shot to the pin was short and he two-putted, ending a chance to advance to play in Sugar Grove, Ill., next week.
Georgia State needed to finish in the top five as a team to advance to its sixth NCAA Championship appearance.
“Today did not go the way that we wanted, but I am incredibly proud of this group of young men,” head coach Joe Inman said. “They never gave up and fought to the end.
“What can I say about Nathan Mallonee? Four years ago, he was a very raw player. Today, he ends his career as an incredibly accomplished collegiate golfer with a college degree and a 4.0 GPA. I will miss interacting with him on a daily basis, but I know he will be successful in everything he does in life.”
In his final collegiate round, Mallonee shot a 2-over 74 to finish tied for 39th at 11-over par for the tournament. He birdied his second-to-last hole and made a nice 10-foot par putt on his last hole to end his career.
Sophomore Nick Budd shot a final round 4-over 76 to place tied for 55th at 16-over par. Fellow sophomore Nathan Williams shot a 5-over 77 to place 68th at 26-over par. Junior Max Herrmann rounded out the Georgia State line-up with a 78 to tie for 46th at 13-over par.
Host LSU, ranked No. 6 in the country, won the regional at 2-over par following a final round 6-over 294. No. 19 Duke came in second place at 10-over par, followed by No. 7 Oregon in third at 15-over par. No. 18 Virginia came in fourth place at 17-over par. No. 42 Jacksonville earned the final spot to the NCAA Championship by defeating No. 29 Northwestern in a two-hole playoff after each team finished at 19-over par for the 54-hole event.
Georgia State topped South Florida, Iowa, Jacksonville State, Loyola-Maryland and Alabama State en route to the ninth place finish.
LSU’s Sam Burns, ranked No. 2 in the country, shot a final round 75 to finish at 4-under par and earn low medalist honors on the Tigers’ home course. Oregon’s Wyndham Clark, ranked No. 1 in the country, finished in second place at 3-under par. Duke’s Alex Smalley, LSU’s Luis Gagne and Duke’s Chandler Eaton tied for third place at even par.
Georgia State will lose just one senior off this year’s squad. The Panthers have already signed one for next year and are expecting to add two more in the coming weeks. The 2017-18 season will get underway in early September.