Golf Finishes Seventh at SoCon Championship
4/22/2008 4:08:00 AM | Men's Golf
FLORENCE, S.C. -- Georgia Southern matched the day's second-lowest round shooting 6-over to finish seventh at the Southern Conference Championship, Tuesday (Apr. 22), at the par-72, 7,062-yard Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.
Highlighting the tournament was the news of freshman Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.) being named SoCon Freshman of the Year by the league.
After a rough start on Sunday, the Eagles fought it out, improving upon each day's performance -- by nine strokes on Monday, and by one stroke today -- helping the team move back up one spot into seventh place on the team leaderboard. After shooting a 6-over 294 on the day, the Eagles moved ahead of Wofford and were only four strokes out of finishing in the top five, carding a 29-over 893.
“We were looking for a chance to win, but got off to a rough start,” said head coach Larry Mays. “We played a little bit better today with one of the better rounds of the day.”
Golfweek's No. 17 Chattanooga shot a 6-over on the day to secure a wire-to-wire team victory at 1-over 865. The Mocs successfully defended their 2007 title, eight strokes better than runner-up College of Charleston.
Western Carolina's Matt Cook garnered his second SoCon individual medal, equaling his winning score from 2006 at 5-under 211.
Entering the final round tied for 14th place, Logan Blondell jumped up two spots after shooting a 1-over 73 to finish the tournament tied for 12th place at 3-over 219. He finished the back nine with three bogeys, but bounced back with a pair of birdies on the front.
Following a stellar weekend and season, Blondell joins four other Eagles in the last eight years to have received the league Freshman of the Year honor. The group includes (year of award): Tyler McKeever (2001), Aron Price (2002), Jon David Kennedy (2003) and David Palm (2005).
“It's a great honor,” said Mays of Blondell's award. “It's a good thing to build upon in the future. We'll be looking for him to keep building upon that.”
Junior Drew Lethem (Camdenton, Mo.) followed shooting 2-over on the day and finished the tournament tied for 20th place at 7-over 223.
Sophomore teammate Spencer Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) stayed at even par down the back nine, but on the front, carded four birdies, broken up by a pair of bogeys, and matched the day's second-lowest round, 2-under 70. He finished the tournament tied for 22nd place at 8-over 224.
Junior Jordan Johnstun (Evens, Ga.) shot a 5-over 77 on the day to finish tied for 35th place at 15-over 231. Teammate and freshman Joe Monte (Chantilly, Va.) followed carding a 9-over 81, and finishing the tournament tied for 39th place at 18-over 234.
Though the season comes to a close, the Eagles graduate only one senior and bring back a lot of talent for the 2008-2009 season.
| Team Results (Final) | ||
| 1 | Chattanooga | 290-281-294=865 (+1) |
| 2 | College of Charleston | 291-288-294=873 (+9) |
| 3 | Western Carolina | 295-293-286=874 (+10) |
| T4 | Furman | 291-295-303=889 (+25) |
| T4 | UNC Greensboro | 296-293-300=889 (+25) |
| 6 | Elon | 299-290-303=892 (+28) |
| 7 | Georgia Southern | 304-295-294=893 (+29) |
| 8 | Wofford | 306-289-309=904 (+40) |
| 9 | Davidson | 309-308-312=929 (+65) |
| 10 | Appalachian State | 313-325-312=950 (+86) |
| Georgia Southern Individual Results (Final) | ||
| T12 | Logan Blondell | 77-69-73=219 (+3) |
| T20 | Drew Lethem | 75-74-74=223 (+7) |
| T22 | Spencer Fulford | 76-78-70=224 (+8) |
| T35 | Jordan Johnstun | 79-75-77=231 (+15) |
| T39 | Joe Monte | 76-77-81=234 (+18) |
