Eagles Prepare for the Landfall Tradition

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Georgia Southern Golf team closes out their fall schedule this weekend (Oct. 24-26), competing at the Landfall Tradition. UNC Wilmington will play host to the event, played on the Nicklaus Course at the Country Club of Landfall.

Live scoring for the event will be available on www.GolfStat.com. Georgia Southern and the other 11 teams will play 18 holes each on Friday-Sunday. According to Mays, the Eagles battled temperatures in the 40s during Thursday morning’s practice round with a chance of rain in the forecast at times this weekend.

The Eagles are competing for the first time in two weeks, coming off their dramatic win at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate. Georgia Southern rallied on the back nine to hold off Kennesaw State and Furman for it second team title of the fall. Head coach Larry Mays hopes that confidence will carry over to this weekend.

“I cannot say enough about the resolve and character of our team on the final nine at the Mizuno. I hope we can build off that, come out focused tomorrow (Friday) and play three good days of golf heading into our long break,” said Mays. “We already accomplished one of our team goals, actually twice by winning two tournaments (Raines Development Group Intercollegiate and Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate). Now it’s time for us to go out and finish the fall on a high note.”

Sophomore Logan Blondell (Lakeland, FL/Lakeland) holds a narrow lead for lowest average at 72.33 per round. Junior Spencer Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C./Southwest Edgecomb) and senior Jordan Johnstun (Evans/LaGrange) are close behind at 72.91 and 73.09, respectively.

Senior Drew Lethem (Camdenton, MO/Olathe East) has arguably been one of the most consistent players this fall, averaging 73.18 per round. He has had his score counted in all 11 rounds to date, the only Eagle to do so this fall. Senior Ryan LeFevre (Boca Raton, FL/Pope John Paul II) won the qualifier to travel with the team this weekend.

“For about the last month or so our top four have established themselves but we are searching for that fifth (player). I think giving everyone a chance to play at our home tournament was a big help, allowing everyone to compete on the same course in the same tournament situation,” said Mays. “We have gone into every tournament wanting to compete for a title. We have built some confidence winning twice this fall so we’ll see what we can do. It’s a good field and this will be a really good test for us. Hopefully we can pass and end the fall on a high note.

“Golf is one of the longest seasons in college athletics. Our guys started last spring, played through the summer in various tournaments and been hard at it this fall. They have been going strong for 9-10 months. We are going to enjoy November and December. It’ll give everyone a chance to catch their breath, finish up strong with their classes and enjoy the holidays,” said Mays.

LANDFALL TRADITION

Country Club of Landfall

Par: 72

Yardage: 7,058

Field (Golfweek ranking in parentheses): UNC Wilmington (Host), Davidson, East Carolina, Georgia Southern (47th), Iowa, VCU (49th), Virginia Tech, Tulsa (32nd), Western Kentucky, William & Mary, Wisconsin, Xavier

Category: Golf

Published on Thursday, 23 October 2008 00:09