AUBURN, Ala. – Georgia State saved its best round for last, shooting a final round even par 288 to finish in fifth place at 19-over par at the Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner on Tuesday (March 7th, 2016). It marked the Panthers sixth-straight top five finish dating back to the fall.
Three Panthers finished among the top 25, led by sophomore Alexander Herrmann who finished tied for eighth at even par. Herrmann shot a final round 72 with four birdies and finished just three strokes off the lead.
Sophomore Max Herrmann led Georgia State in the final round with a 2-under 70, tying for 22nd in the 54-hole event at 5-over par. Senior JJ Grey also shot under par, finishing with a 1-under 71 to tie for 18th. Both made five birdies during the final round.
“I’m definitely proud of the way the guys played today,” head coach Joe Inman said. We made a lot more birdies and are moving in the right direction. With a couple of tournaments left before conference, we need to clean up some little things, but that should be something we can accomplish and I expect us to challenge for the conference title.”
The Panthers finished first in par 3 scoring for the week, but struggled on the par 5’s, normally the team’s strength.
Junior Nathan Mallonee shot a final round 3-over 75 to finish tied for 49th at 12-over par with freshman Nick Budd rounding out the line-up, shooting a 78 on Tuesday to finish at 20-over par and alone in 88th.
Conference foe Troy shot a final round 5-under 283 to leapfrog No. 5 Auburn and earn the tournament title at 2-under par. The Tigers finished second at 1-over, with UNC Greensboro coming in third at 14-over. Kennesaw State finished fourth at 15-over, followed by the Panthers.
UNC Greensboro’s Taylor Coalson and Jake McGlone tied for low medalist honors at 3-under par. A threesome finished tied for third at 2-under, including UNC Wilmington’s Patrick Cover and the Auburn duo of Michael Johnson and Matt Gilchrest.
Georgia State will return to the course March 18-20, at the Schenkel Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga.