MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Kennesaw State men’s golf team took home its third tournament title of the 2011-12 season on Tuesday afternoon, winning the Memphis Intercollegiate by one stroke over No. 43 Memphis finishing with a 892, +28.
Junior Ben Greene took home a title of his own as well as he won the individual title, shooting a 72-72-71= 215, -1 over the 54-hole event. The Duluth, Ga. native becomes the first Owl to win an individual title this season, and the last KSU player to do so since April 20, 2011 when senior Jeff Karlson won the Atlantic Sun Championship. The junior not only won the individual title, but his putt on the 18th hole sealed the team title for Kennesaw State as well. With the Black and Gold tied with Memphis heading into the 54th hole, the stage was set for Greene. His approach shot landed to within 20 feet of the cup to set up a birdie putt to win the match, and the individual title. After reading the putt from several different angles, Greene calmly stepped up to the ball and drained it to send the Owls into a wild celebration.
“I spent a lot of time working on all the things I have been struggling with all season,” Greene said. “I went into this tournament trying not to think about all of the mechanics. I said I was going to forget about it all and just play golf. I putted well all tournament and knew that if I played my best I had a chance to win.”
“Ben hit the ball as well as he has ever hit it,” head coach Jay Moseley said. “His putting was awesome and really made the difference in him winning.”
The Black and Gold had two individuals finish in the top-five as senior Matt Nagy finished in third place for the tournament firing a 76-69-75= 220, +4. Freshman Jimmy Beck tied for 27th place in the event recording a 80-73-73= 229, +13, while junior Jonathan Klotz wrapped up KSU’s scoring finishing in a tie for 36th with a 76-80-77= 233, +17.
“I am proud of the effort we put fourth today in tough conditions that were not conducive to scoring low,” Moseley said. “You have to earn everything you get on that course and our goal was to be patient and limit our mistakes. It was a great tournament for us from top to bottom, and will give us a lot of confidence heading into the Atlantic Sun Championship next week.”
SEC affiliate Vanderbilt came in third place in the intercollegiate, posting a score of 901, +37. No. 42 Middle Tennessee State finished up in fourth place by registering a 903, +39, and Akron rounded out the top-five by shooting a 904, +40.