Zabroske and Eagles Nab Second Place Finishes at Adams Cup of Newport
“It was a good showing for the Eagles, but we are a little disappointed we didn’t play better today,” said Eagle head coach Larry Mays. “The team’s character really showed with them being disappointed in a second-place finish competing in such a tough field. But with our past two tournaments, we are definitely on the right path as a team.”
Georgia Southern retained second place following the conclusion of rounds one and two. Southern Methodist slid into first place with a third-round 291 to claim the tournament title as the Eagles and Mustangs dropped first-place contender New Mexico into third place. The Eagles shot a final round 298 to complete a tournament total 882, six strokes out of first place on the par 72, 7,244 yard Orchard Course at Newport National Golf Club .
“The highlight of the week was Ryan’s [Zabroske] performance. This was a great tournament for him,” stated Mays. “In just the first three tournaments of the year, Ryan has collected two ‘Top 5’ showings. We are excited that his hard work is paying off on the course.”
Teeing off on hole one, Zabroske jump started his lowest round of the tournament firing an eagle on the 522-yard opening hole. The Alpharetta, Ga., native succeeded the next 17 holes with three birdies and two bogeys, rounding out his best collegiate finish to date. Zabroske’s third round 69 also bested his previous career-low round of 18 to set a new standard. The senior was one of only three competitors to tally a sub-par final tournament total, finishing two strokes out of first place Jeb Buchanan of Connecticut, who carded a three-round 207.
“I thought the tournament went really well for me. I played the course well both days and drove the ball well, which gave me a chance to win,” senior Zabroske stated on his tournament performance. “Not many players finished the tournament under-par individually, so I’m proud of my showing.”
In just the first three tournaments of the fall campaign, Zabroske has snared two ‘top 5’ finishes; the first in the season-opening tournament in Iowa. “This is definitely the best I’ve played since I’ve been in college. After the first tournament, I continued to work on my game so I could improve, and it paid off in this tournament,” said Zabroske. “It is really exciting for me to finish second because I’ve put in a lot of work and time in to better my results and play well for the team.”
With the second highest finish on the team, junior Logan Blondell tied for 13th. Blondell, a native of Lakeland, Fla., completed his tournament-total 221 with a final round 78. Four strokes back of his fellow classmate, junior Joe Monte solidified his three-round 225 with a final round 75. Monte finished tied for 27th.
Rounding out the Eagles’ lineup were Spence Fulford and Florian Sander. Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) and Sander (Bregenz, Austria) both posted final rounds of 77 to wrap up the tournament in a 37th-place tie at 228 and 55th-place tie at 233, respectively.
“As a team, we didn’t play well today. We have some little things we need to clean up if we want to be the team we strive to be,” Mays stated. “We will take one week off and then head down to Tampa for the Gary Koch Invitational, which will be the toughest field we’ve seen all year. We’ve had two good tournaments in a row now, but we still have some work to do in order to continue competing at this high level.”
Georgia Southern returns to the course, October 3-4, at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate. The two-day tournament will be contested on the par 72, 7,389-yard Old Memorial Golf Club in Tampa, Fla.
- Category: Golf
- Published on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 17:43
