Blondell Second at 2010 Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate after Five-hole Playoff
10/13/2010 5:25:00 AM | Men's Golf
POOLER, Ga.- Florida Gulf Coast, in first place since the first round, shot a tournament best 20-under 844 to win the 2010 Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate at the par-72 7,016 yard Savannah Quarters Country Club. Wofford finished 17-strokes back in second place (287-284-290=861). Both Winthrop and Troy stayed in the top five from the first day of tournament play by firing final rounds of 288 and 291 respectively, to finish in a tie for third. Jacksonville rounded out the 'Top 5' with a 1-over 865. Georgia Southern finished the tournament tied for 12th place with Charleston Southern.
The most impressive day for the Eagles came from senior Logan Blondell. Blondell and Davidson's Richard Fountain emerged from a six-man field that was two-strokes within the lead coming into today's final round. Both Blondell and Fountain carded high 60s which led the two golfers to end the final round in a tie for first at 10-under 206, forcing a playoff to determine the 2010 Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate individual winner. Fountain shot a 6-under 66 to get into the playoff, which included three birdies each on the front and back nine.
Blondell signed for a final-round 68 that included four birdies, two on par-4s and one birdie on a par-5 and par-3. The Lakeland, Fla., native shot a career low-54 206 (70-67-68) and tied a career-low 18 when he fired a second-round 5-under 67. Blondell's other 67 came at the 2008 Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate, where he finished first after a two-hole playoff. This time, both players would battle for five holes until an individual won.
Fountain and Blondell both responded in pressure situations on the 18th hole, which was the site for the first four playoff holes. Both made birdies on the first playoff hole with Blondell's ball dropping in from 10 feet and Fountain's from 20 feet. The second trip to the 18th hole green saw both players par. Blondell and Fountain both birdied the hole on their third trip to the 18th green and got shuttled back to the 18th tee-box for the fourth time. Blondell had a 16-footer for birdie that broke left inches away from the cup that left both players for par and a fifth playoff hole.
Both players agreed to move the playoff to the 10th hole, which saw Fountain win the individual title sinking a difficult birdie putt. Blondell's second place is his best finish of the season.
"Overall for the week I played really well," said Blondell. "I'm happy where my game is at, I wish I would've come out one shot better but I can't change anything now and I'm very pleased with the way the week went. We are just going to take it day-by-day and hopefully keep progressing for the future."
This is the second time in three years Blondell has finished first or runner-up. Something that he credits his work ethic and time spent on a course that's close to Statesboro.
"Playing a course multiple times and getting as many reps out on any course is a huge advantage, especially at a course like Savannah Quarters, which is visually intimidating'" Blondell said. "For this course, the more you play it, the more you get past the visual side of it and you realize there are good scores out there to be had, and you just have to go do it."
Blondell did just that, shooting in the red all three rounds (71-67-68).
"Logan played great," said Head Coach Larry Mays. "He got into a playoff and lost in a five-hole playoff which was unbelievable golf to watch at the end. To birdie the 18th hole twice for both players was pretty phenomenal; then to play well on number 10, two of the hardest holes out here; for them to put on that kind of show is something special. I told him as a team leader, he led as well as you can lead this week. Now we have to get some of those guys to buy-in and follow."
Lewis Gruber (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) both shot 3-over 75 to finish in a tie for 44th and 55th respectively. Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria) finished six strokes back from Deal with a 232 and Jake Ware (Statesboro, Ga.) finished the tournament with a 237.
Competing as an individual, Will Evans (McDonough, Ga.) shot 1-under 215 (67-71-77) to finish in a tie for 14th, his best finish as an Eagle. Fellow classmate Hayden Anderson (Knoxville, Tenn.) shot even-par on the final round to finish with a 233. Others competing as individuals were Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh, Scotland) and Drew Guffey (Bartow, Fla.).
"We didn't play well again today," Mays said. "Other than Logan, we basically didn't compete all week. We will have to get home, work hard and fix it and hopefully get a little fire in these guys' bellies to want to compete harder and work to get better."
The Eagles will go back to the Bennett-Ramsey Golf Center and prepare for the David Toms Intercollegiate October 18-19, the last tournament of the fall campaign. The fall season has given different players collegiate tournament experience that will be helpful going into the spring.
"The one nice thing about the fall is we've played a lot of different people and we've gotten a lot of different people in the lineup. We had freshman Will Evans, who had a pretty good tournament, he shot under-par for the tournament and had a great first day. He didn't play as well as today but that's a step in the right direction. Hopefully we can continue to make those positive steps."
