ATLANTA, G.A. – Georgia State men’s golf coach Joe Inman announced the signings of three state of Georgia junior golfers to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, November 12th, 2014, to start playing for the Panthers next fall. The highly-touted group includes Sam Asbury (Atlanta, Ga.), Nickolaus Budd (Etowah, Ga.) and Nathan Williams (Gainesville, Ga.).
“This is a great group of three very talented Georgia golfers,” Inman said. “Each brings a different strength to our program and I believe will all contribute to our program for years to come. I look forward to getting to work with them next August.”
Asbury, who currently plays for Holy Innocents High School, led his squad to a runner-up finish as a junior at the Class A private state championship. He finished second at the championship firing a 3-under 69, following a second-place finish at the Class A private school sectionals where he shot a 2-under 70.
He enjoyed a successful season on the SJGT last year, winning the Georgia Club Junior Classic in June, shooting 70-67. In April he finished third at the Hampton Cove Junior Classic after rounds of 71-72 and also had a fourth-place finish on tour at the DJGS Junior Classic at Furman.
Asbury won the AJGA Preseason Junior at Nemacolin in 2014, shooting 76-72 and had top 15 finishes at the Will Claxton Junior and Under Armour/Scott Stallings Championship.
“Sam was late to golf, but has worked extremely hard and played in a lot of junior tournaments to catch up to his peers,” Inman said. “If he continues to put forth the effort that we saw while we were recruiting him, he could turn out to be a very talented collegiate golfer.”
Nickolaus Budd will join the Panthers after playing for Etowah High School. He earned an impressive tie for 24th-place finish at the 2014 Georgia Open, shooting 71-74-76-74 following an 18th-place finish at the AJGC E-Z-Go Vaughn Taylor Championship.
In 2013, Budd finished eighth at the GSGA Junior Championship, shooting 71-76-77, to qualify for a spot for Team Georgia in the Georgia-South Carolina Cup. Earlier in the year he shot his lowest-ever tournament score with a 66 as a part of the HJGT Nike Series.
As a sophomore, he led his team to an eighth-place finish at the 6-A state championship where he finished tied for second with current Panther Hayden Poole after each shot 71.
“Nicholas has some real potential,” Inman said. “I liked his swing and his poise on the golf course from the first time I saw him play and think he has a chance to be very good at the Division I level.”
Nathan Williams out of Gainesville High School is the Panthers third signee. Williams long resume of junior events goes back to his days in middle school playing on the Southeastern Junior Tour.
In 2014, he finished sixth at the Orchard Hills Junior, shooting 72-69, and then finished 15th at the UGA AutoTrader.com Invitational. He also shot a 75 in the 2014 U.S. Open Local Qualifier at The Legends of Chateau Elan to finish 25th.
Williams earned a fifth-place finish at the 2013 SJGT Four-ball shooting 71-70 and 12th at the 2012 Dogwood Junior Invitational. He won the 2012 Furman Junior shooting 74-72 a year after finish third in the same event.
“Nathan is a really solid player who has been playing junior golf for a long time,” Inman said. “He has a great deal of experience and continues to get better. Playing as much tournament golf as he has will be a big positive when he reaches the next level.”
Georgia State will return to the course February 14-15, 2014, in Gainesville, F.L., for the SunTrust Gator Invitational.