Wolfes Wins Invitational at Kiawah, Eagles Tie for 11th
9/11/2012 9:33:00 PM | Men's Golf
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Georgia Southern sophomore golfer Scott Wolfes finished with a three-round total of 220 to win the individual title at the Invitational at Kiawah at the Ocean Course, the site of the 2012 PGA Championship.
Wolfes, who began the day as the tournament's leader after shooting a 67 yesterday, labored through a round of 80 and looked to be out of contention with Florida's Tyler McCumber surging past him and into the lead during the final round.
Wolfes, who teed off on hole 10, birdied holes 11 and 15 before double-bogeying 17. He struggled with the first four holes on the front nine, playing them in five-over par before recording a string of four straight pars. He bogeyed hole 9 to finish +4 for the tournament.
McCumber and Florida teammate TJ Vogel teed off on the first hole, and McCumber struggled on the front nine, carding double bogeys at 2 and 4 and bogeys at 3 and 5. Vogel made an early charge, playing the front nine at 1-under, but struggled down the stretch playing the back nine at +5. Both Gators finished a shot back.
"Scott had the lowest score at the end of the day, and that's all that matters," said Georgia Southern coach Larry Mays. "He played a great tournament, and yesterday's round was obviously the difference. Today was the toughest of the three days for everybody, playing a championship course like that in tournament conditions."
Wolfes is the first individual medalist for Georgia Southern since Logan Blondell won the Kauai Collegiate Cup in 2009 after shooting an 8-under par 208.
Georgia Southern tied for 11th as a team with St. John's, one shot back of Stephen F. Austin. Florida, who had four players in the top-5 in the individual standings, won the tournament by 24 strokes.
Blake Olson shot the lowest round for the Eagles today, posting a 78, and Caleb Morris carded a 79. Hayden Anderson shot an 81, and Charlie Martin finished with an 82.
Will Evans posted an 85, and Henry Mabbett, playing as an individual, recorded a 79. Mabbett tied for 44th in the 96-player field, the second-best finish by an Eagle.
The Eagles are back in action at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 21-23, hosted by Vanderbilt.
"We didn't play as well as we'd like as a team, but we'll regroup and address some things," said Mays. "Mostly, we need to clean up our short game, so we'll work on that and come ready for Vanderbilt."
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