Zabroske and Eagles Claim Sixth in Augusta
Ryan Zabroske, a native of Alpharetta, Ga., tied for sixth position at the par 72, 7,161-yard Forest Hills tract. The senior tied his career-low round of 67 in the second round and followed it with a 4-under 68 to close the tournament. Zabroske calculated a 9-under 207 tournament frame using rounds of 72-67-68. The Eagle finished six strokes out of individual medalist Henrik Norlander of Augusta State.
“We are all pleased we got a good finish this week,” said head coach Larry Mays. “We didn’t get four good scores today, but the course played a little harder with tougher pin placements as to be expected. Ryan [Zabroske] had an excellent tournament this weekend and really challenged for the individual finish which was a team goal entering the weekend. Matt [Deal] posted another good round and I was proud of him with his effort this weekend as well.”
Host Augusta State continued to dominate the tournament carding a 15-under 273 final round for a 47-under 817 three-day total to claim its 13th tournament title with a 16-shot edge over second-place South Carolina (833). Duke claimed third with an 8-under 280 final round for an 843 (-21) tournament total, while Clemson preserved fourth at 845. Tennessee, who began in third, slipped two slots back finishing fifth with an 846.
Georgia Southern bounced back-and-forth with Tennessee for a top five finish through the final holes and was tied for fifth when they concluded the round. But the Volunteers finished strong shooting 5-under over the final three holes to claim a five-stroke advantage over the Eagles.
Zabroske teed off his final round with a birdie on the first hole and closed out the front nine with an eagle on nine to take the turn at 3-under. He bogeyed hole 12, but rounded out the back nine with two birdies over the final four holes. Combining his 3-under front nine with a 1-under back nine, Zabroske vaulted eight spots on the leaderboard to record his fourth Top 10 finish of the season tying for sixth at 9-under.
Junior Joe Monte (Chantilly, Va.) posted his best 54-hole total of the season with a 214 (-2). Monte launched two eagles over the final 18 holes, coming on No. 6 and 17. Standing even after the front nine, Monte continued to level his slate through the back nine erasing a bogey on No. 11 with a birdie two holes later. Two bogeys over the next three holes vanished with his eagle on No. 17, but a double bogey to close the round left the junior at 2-over for the afternoon. Monte used two rounds in the red and his final round 74 to finish tied for 28th at 214.
Saving his best tournament tally for his final regular season contest, Statesboro, Ga., native Matt Deal posted a 217 (+1) to mark a career-low. After carding a career-low 18 in the second round, Deal fired his second-best round on the final 18. The senior posted an even slate on the front nine and maintained the slate with a birdie and bogey to open the back nine. But a birdie on No. 15 moved the senior to 1-under as he closed the round with pars on the final three holes to finish in a tie for 40th.
One stroke back, fellow senior Spence Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) carded a 3-over 75 to finish tied for 47th. Rounding out the five-man lineup, redshirt-freshman Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria) struggled on the final day posting an 81 to place tied for 76th.
“Overall, we took a big step forward playing three solid rounds this weekend,” stated Mays. “This was a regional style field and I was happy to see the team apply what we worked on in practice and beat some top quality programs. This certainly gives us added confidence heading into the conference tournament. Now we just need to continue to work hard over the next couple weeks and bring a strong game to Florence.”
Georgia Southern closed out regular season play in Augusta and will prepare over the next two weeks for the Southern Conference Tournament to take place April 18-20 in Florence, S.C. The tournament will be held at The Country Club of South Carolina.
- Category: Golf
- Published on Sunday, 04 April 2010 19:25
