Eagle Golf Closes Regular Season at Augusta State Invitational
4/1/2011 3:31:00 PM | Men's Golf
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Golf concludes its regular season this weekend as the Eagles travel to Augusta, Ga., for the Insperity Augusta State Invitational April 2-3rd. The tournament, played at the par-72, 7,029-yard Forest Hills Golf Club, features six teams in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Top-20 rankings and includes the current top two ranked teams in the nation.
A highlight of this year's tournament is a rematch of the 2010 NCAA National Championship Match Play Final between Augusta State and Oklahoma State. The Jaguars won the 2010 NCAA Championship after defeating the Cowboys in match play at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.
"We are looking forward to playing against a great field and hope to continue getting more consistent," said Head Coach Larry Mays. "We will need three great rounds this week to have a chance to compete."
The 33rd edition of the Augusta State Invitational consists of 16 teams: No. 3 Alabama, No. 9 Augusta State, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Houston, No. 8 Illinois, Lamar, No. 1 Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Tennessee, No. 2 UCLA, USC Aiken, Virginia Tech and No. 20 Washington.
Augusta State, host of the event, set a tournament-total record last year to capture the team title. The Jaguars shot a 47-under 817 (274-270-273), 16 shots ahead of second-place South Carolina, to repeat as team champion for two years in a row. ASU also claimed individual medalist honors for the second-straight year as Henrik Norlander registered the second-best score in tourney history with a 15-under 201(68-68-65).
Georgia Southern's best finish at the Augusta State Invitational was in 1980 when the Eagles won the second annual Augusta State Invitational with an 886 tournament total. Last year, Georgia Southern shot an even-par 288 on the final 18 holes to finish in sixth place with a 13-under 851 (285-278-288). Ryan Zabroske led the Eagles in the individual standings, firing a 9-under 207 (72-67-68) to finish tied for sixth place.
GSU will travel Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.), Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria), Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh, Scotland), Will Evans (McDonough, Ga.) and Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) to the tournament.
Three of Georgia Southern's five players (Blondell, Sander and Deal) have competed in the Augusta State Invitational. Deal had a career-best showing in 2010 at Forest Hills, posting a career-low 2-under 70 in the second round. He shot a 1-over 217 overall to record a career-low 54-hole tournament total.
Tournament play gets underway Saturday morning beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Teams will play the first two rounds on Saturday, with the third and final round slated for a 9 a.m. start on Sunday, April 3rd. Georgia Southern is paired with Houston and Georgia State for the first two rounds.
Live scoring of the Augusta State Invitational is available at www.golfstat.com. For more information on the Insperity Augusta State Invitational, visit www.jaguarsroar.com.
With or without experience, the Eagles will use the last tournament of the regular season to prepare for the Southern Conference Championships April 17-19th at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.
"I feel like we made some progress at the Schenkel and need to build on that leading into conference in a few weeks," Mays stated. "The ultimate goal is to go and compete well at SoCon in Florence (South Carolina). Everything we do between now and then is gearing us up for that."
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