Georgia Southern Records its Lowest Round to Close out Gator
2/14/2011 5:43:00 PM | Men's Golf
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Georgia Southern Golf team recorded its lowest round of the tournament on the final day of competition to finish 13th at the 33rd Sun Trust Gator Invitational. Sophomore Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria) led the Eagles, firing a final round 1-over 71 to finish in a tie for 22nd. Tournament host Florida, posting a 4-over 844 (281-282-281) at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida, won the tournament. The Gators and head coach Buddy Alexander, a Georgia Southern alum, won the Gator Invitational for the eighth-straight time. Florida's Andres Echavarria held off Florida State's Drew Kittleson on the fourth playoff hole to capture individual medalist honors.
Georgia Southern, as a team, progressed on the course as the tournament continued. The Eagles posted lower team scores after each round, finishing the final round with a 298 (+18) that shaved off 12 strokes from the team's opening round.
Sander finished the Gator Invitational with an 8-over 218 (73-73-71), mirroring the former Eagle Ryan Zabroske's three-round total a year ago for the highest Eagle finish at the Gator with a tie for 19th place. Sander scattered four birdies around the final 18 holes, two on the front, and two after the turn. The birdies on two par-5s (#7, #12), par-4 (#18) and a par-3 (#2), helped him move up 12 spots to a tie for 22nd in the individual standings.
After recording one birdie in two rounds, redshirt-freshman Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh, Scotland) carded a pair during the final round to finish in a tie for 55th (76-76-77= 229). Lewis Gruber (Tallahassee, Fla.) signed for a 4-over 74, his lowest round of the weekend, to finish tied for 62nd place. Senior Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.) finished two strokes behind Gruber, shooting a final round 76 (+6) for 65th place.
Senior Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) closed the tournament in a tie for 73rd place. Hayden Anderson (Knoxville, Tenn.), competing as an individual, finished two spots ahead in 71st place.
Six teams from the Gator Invitational will compete next month at the 32nd Schenkel Invitational. Auburn, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and North Florida join the 15-team field at the par-72, 6,947-yard Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro March 18-20th.
Georgia Southern will have two weeks to prepare for its next tournament as the Eagles compete in the John Hayt Invitational February 27 - March 1, at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
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.
