Men’s Golf Defends J.T. Poston Invitational Title, Holds Off South Carolina by a Stroke

Monday, September 30

Cashiers, N.C.

8 a.m.

Georgia Southern University

JT Poston Invitational

Men’s Golf Defends J.T. Poston Invitational Title, Holds Off South Carolina by a Stroke

10/1/2019 6:34:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results

The Eagles set the school and tournament record for three-round team score.

By: Marc Gignac

CASHIERS, N.C. – Four Eagles finished in the top-10, and Georgia Southern men's golf held off South Carolina by a stroke to successfully defend its J.T. Poston Invitational title Monday at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley.

Georgia Southern set a 54-hole team tournament record with a 47-under par 805 over the two-day event. The score also sets the school record for team score in a 54-hole event, beating the previous mark by 13 strokes.

In the 14-year history of West Carolina-hosted events at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley (WCU Intercollegiate, The Hummingbird Intercollegiate and the newly-renamed J.T. Poston Invitational) Georgia Southern becomes the first team to repeat as champion.

Sophomore Mason Williams (-13) tied for second for his best career finish, and senior Brett Barron (-10) tied for fourth. Sophomore Ben Carr (-9) tied for seventh, and senior Jake Maples (-8) placed ninth.

The Eagles had an eight-shot lead over VCU and were 12 ahead of South Carolina after the first round, and second-round play was suspended yesterday afternoon because of heavy rain. The teams got back at it this morning, and South Carolina finished the second round with a tournament record 264, besting the Eagles' mark of 265 from the first round, to trim the margin to three strokes heading into the third round.

The Eagles finished the event ranked behind the Gamecocks in par-4 and par-5 scoring but made up four strokes in par-3 scoring and led the field with 187 pars.

Carr and Williams shot 67, Barron added a 68 and sophomore Colin Bowles fired a 71 to make up the counters in the second round. Carr notched a 66, while Maples, Barron and Williams all shot 67 in the third round to seal the win. The Eagles combined to roll in 63 birdies in the tournament.

Scores
Team – 265-273-267=805 (-47), 1
Mason Williams – 66-67-67=200 (-13), T2
Brett Barron – 68-68-67=203 (-10), T4
Ben Carr – 71-67-66=204 (-9), T7
Jake Maples – 65-73-67=205 (-8), 9
Colin Bowles – 66-71-73=210 (-3), T30

Indys
Luukas Alakulppi – 68-71-70=209 (-4), T22
Wilson Andress – 70-70-74=214 (+1), T46

Quotable from Coach Carter Collins
"What a great week for our program! I'm proud of the guys for performing so well all week and bringing a trophy back to the Boro!! It took everything we had today to get it done, and we were fortunate to come out on the good side of a great battle. I can't wait to see how this team continues to write its story this year. GATA!!"

Next up
The Eagles play in Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Classic, where they finished second last season, Oct. 7-8, at Warren Golf Course.