INDEPENDENCE, Minn. – Wilson Andress shot a 5-under 66 to earn medalist honors and lead the 24th-ranked Georgia Southern men's golf team to the team title at the Gopher Invitational Monday at Windsong Farm Golf Club.
Andress finished 11-under for the tournament and picks up his first collegiate victory. Georgia Southern shot 9-under in today's final round, the lowest score of the day, to move two spots up the leaderboard and claim the team victory. GS (-20) finished five strokes ahead of Kansas (-15) and Kent State (-15), which tied for second.
Brantley Baker carded a 68, and
Mason Williams shot a 69.
Ben Carr rounded out the Eagle counters with a 72. Carr (-5) tied for 10th, and Williams (-4) tied for 12th as three Eagles finished in the top-15.
Andress won the individual title by two strokes over Garrett Cooper (-9) of Coastal Carolina. The fifth-year senior played a bogey free front nine and made seven birdies on the day, including two on his last four holes, to clinch the title.
Baker made five birdies, including three on the back 9, as he played the side 2-under. Williams notched three birdies on the front and had just one bogey on the day, and Carr played the back 1-under with consecutive birdies at 13 and 14.
The Eagles made 55 birdies as a team to lead the field, and GS ranked third in par-4 scoring and fourth in par-3 scoring.
Hayden Carner played as an individual in the Minnesota Golf Classic, a separate event, and finished runner-up at 9-under for the tournament. He was two strokes behind Baylor's Trey Bosco (-11) and topped Iowa State's Lukas Pany (-7) and Notre Dame's Angelo Marcon (-7) by two strokes.
Carner opened the tournament with a 68, tied for the lowest score of the round. He followed it up with a 70 in the second round before carding a 69 today after birdieing two of his final four holes and shooting 34 on the back nine. His 18 birdies in three rounds led the event.
Results
Team – 276-281-275=832 (-20), 1
Wilson Andress – 69-67-66=202 (-11), 1
Ben Carr – 67-69-72=208 (-5), T10
Mason Williams – 69-71-69=209 (-4), T12
Brantley Baker – 71-74-68=213 (E), T33
Hogan Ingram – 75-75-75=225 (+12), T77
Hayden Carner* - 68-70-69=207 (-9), 2
*Played as an individual in the Minnesota Golf Classic at Pioneer Creek Golf Club
Quotables from Coach Carter Collins
"It was awesome week competing in Minnesota in another great field. I'm proud of the guys for earning a tournament win on a championship golf course. Windsong is a great golf course that will help sharpen us for championship golf courses down the road.
"Wilson (Andress) played incredible from start to finish and earned a huge win this week - we are so proud!"
"I'm proud of the team for their preparation, process and fight this week, and I cannot wait to carry this positive momentum into our next Fall events. Hail Southern!!"
Next Up
The Eagles will compete in the Old Town Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Wake Forest at the Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sept. 26-27.
