AWENDAW, S.C. – Led by a final round 2-under par 70 from junior Max Herrmann, Georgia State shot a 1-over 289 on Tuesday to finish in fifth-place at The Hootie at Bulls Bay. Georgia State finished ahead of six of the 10 teams in the field ranked in the Top 50 in the latest GolfStat rankings entering the week.
Herrmann led the Panthers in the final round to finish tied for 12th at 2-under par, giving the junior his second-straight top-12 finish.
Junior Nathan Mallonee led Georgia State for the week finishing ninth at 4-under par following a final round 72.
Georgia State, which finished the event at 5-under par, placed ahead of No. 9 Virginia, No. 24 Missouri, No. 36 Kentucky, No. 39 Kansas, No. 42 Purdue and No. 47 Houston.
“If you had told me coming into the week we would finish fifth and beat so many really good programs, it would have been hard for me to be upset,” head coach Joe Inman said. “However, after the start we had on Sunday, it is a little disappointing to not finish better. With that said, we still came away with a great result in a field tougher than most NCAA Regionals and will use that a motivation going to Augusta this weekend.”
Junior Alex Herrmann and sophomore Nick Budd tied for 40th at 3-over par. Herrmann shot a final round 1-over 73, while Budd added a 2-over 74. Sophomore Nathan Williams rounded out the line-up with a 4-over 76.
No. 31 South Carolina won the event for a third year in a row, shooting 279 on Tuesday to finish at 20-under par. No. 25 Ole Miss came in second at 16-under, with No. 23 Auburn and No. 49 NC State tying for third at 10-under par.
Ole Miss’ Ben Wolcott earned low medalist honors following a final round 69 to finish at 12-under par and win by one stroke. He defeated teammate Braden Thornberry who finished second at 11-under par. South Carolina’s Keenan Huskey finished in third at 10-under par, with NC State’s Stephen Franken coming in fourth at 8-under. South Carolina’s Jamie Wilson and Virginia’s Jimmy Stanger rounded out the top five at 7-under par.
The eighth annual event benefited The Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation which puts on the event. The coaches, players and sponsors enjoyed a Hootie and the Blowfish concert on Friday night.
Georgia State will return to the course this Saturday and Sunday at the 3M Augusta Invitational in Augusta, Ga. It will mark the final regular season event before the Sun Belt Conference Championship later in the month in Destin, Fla.