Eagle Golf Improves on Final day at Gary Koch Intercollegiate
10/4/2010 2:04:00 AM | Men's Golf
TAMPA, Fla. - Momentum gained by players from their overall second-round 289 performance helped the Georgia Southern Golf team finish ninth at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate, one spot higher than first-day team standings. Virginia held off Auburn to win the Gary Koch Intercollegiate and also captured the top individual spot as junior Ben Kohles fired a 9-under 207 tournament total. Four Eagles carded third-round scores that would propel them up in the final standings. Georgia Southern as a team carded a 6-over 294, fifth-best third round, the toughest round for the 12-team field at the Old Memorial Golf Club, with an average of 75.05 strokes.
Senior Logan Blondell's play at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate only got better as the tournament progressed. Birdies on the final two holes helped Blondell sign for a third-round 71, the lowest on the day for Georgia Southern and tied fellow senior Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) for the team's lowest round at the Gary Koch. Blondell 's consistent play in the mid-70s, along with 38 pars (tied for fifth best in the field) helped the Lakeland, Fla., native finish in a tie for 24th (75-73-71=219).
Lewis Gruber's (Tallahassee, Fla.) three birdies on the last four holes helped the junior shoot a pair of second and third round 72s which moved Gruber up five spots to a tie for 36th finish at 6-over 222. Matt Deal, two strokes back from Gruber, finished in a tie for 35th.
Sophomore Florian Sander's 1-under performance on the final nine holes gave the Bregenz, Austria, native a 1-over 73 for the day and a 10-spot climb in the standings to a 38th-place tie. Competing as an individual, Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh, Scotland) finished with a 2-over 74 that moved the freshman up to a tie for 57th finish. Freshman Drew Guffey (Bartow, Fla.) finished in 61st place.
"It was a beautiful day for golf," said Head Coach Larry Mays. "I was proud of the way that our guys fought back, but we were still missing that consistency. We played two solid rounds and one terrible one. In a tournament like the Gary Koch Intercollegiate that has great teams, you can't afford a terrible round."
The Eagles will look to improve with consistent play this week as they prepare for the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate. Georgia Southern plays host to the event at Savannah Quarters Country Club October 11-12.
For more information on Eagle Golf, follow the team on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/golf and get up-to-date scores and results on twitter.com/GSScores and facebook.com/GSAthletics.
