MADISON, Miss. – Charlie Flynn walked in a five-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the deciding match and lift Louisiana to the Sun Belt Men's Golf Championship with 3-2 victory over Georgia Southern Thursday evening at Annandale Golf Club.
Georgia Southern, which came into the week ranked 26th in the country by Golfstat, will await word from the NCAA on an at-large bid to its 28th NCAA Championship. The selection show will air on the GOLF Channel Wednesday, May 3, at 1 p.m. Louisiana earns the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Ben Carr won his match 6&5, and
Parker Claxton followed with a 3&2 victory to put the Eagles ahead 2-0 in the finals. Jake Marler earned a point for the Ragin' Cajuns, leaving two matches left on the course.
Wilson Andress battled back from a 3-hole deficit on the back nine and tied his match by draining a par putt on 17, but Malan Potgieter rolled in a par putt on 18 to win it 1UP.
Flynn and
Brantley Baker halved the first 13 holes of their match before Flynn won two holes in a row, the last one with a birdie on 15 to go 2UP. Baker answered by winning two straight holes to square the match through 17. Both players had birdie putts on the par-5 18th. Flynn rolled his in, and Baker's ran just by the hole.
The Eagles advanced to the finals by topping Troy 5-0 in the morning session. GS never trailed in a match, and four of the five players in the lineup won their first hole. Andress opened up a 4UP lead through his first eight holes and maintained the advantage through 14. After losing the 15th hole, he halved 16 for the win.
Mason Williams extended a 1UP lead to 4UP by winning 11, 12 and 13. He rolled in a birdie to win 15 and end the match. Carr built a 4UP lead through 13 and birdied 14 to win his match and clinch a spot in the finals for the Eagles.
GS advanced to match play by winning stroke play on the final hole on a birdie by Carr on Wednesday. It was the third consecutive Sun Belt Championship in which the Eagles have finished first in stroke play and their fourth team tournament win this season.
Carr and Claxton each won both their matches today, and Carr improved his record in Sun Belt Championship match play to 6-1 with the lone loss coming on the 20th hole in his freshman season in 2019.
Finals Results vs. Louisiana – Louisiana wins 3-2
Match 1 -
Wilson Andress vs. Malan Potgieter – LA wins 1UP
Match 2 -
Brantley Baker vs. Charlie Flynn – LA wins 1UP
Match 3 –
Parker Claxton vs. Eli Ortego – GS wins 3&2
Match 4 -
Mason Williams vs. Jake Marler – LA wins 3&2
Match 5 -
Ben Carr vs. Matt Weber – GS wins 6&5
Semifinal Results vs. Troy – GS wins 5-0
Match 1 -
Wilson Andress vs. Jason Quinlan – GS wins 3&2
Match 2 -
Brantley Baker vs. Nicklas Borrmann – GS wins 2&1
Match 3 –
Parker Claxton vs. Jake Springer – GS wins 1UP
Match 4 -
Mason Williams vs. Will McFadden – GS wins 5&3
Match 5 -
Ben Carr vs. Brantley Scott – GS wins 5&4
Quotable from head coach Carter Collins
"I'm so proud of this team, and there are a ton of positives to take away from the week. We won another Sun Belt stroke-play championship and went 7-3 in match play. It's a special group that had a special week, and I'm forever grateful for this team and how hard they work and compete."
Next Up
The Eagles will compete in an NCAA Regional May 15-17. The men's regional sites are:
Auburn, Alabama - Auburn University Club (Auburn, host)
Salem, South Carolina - The Cliffs at Keowee Falls (Clemson, host)
Bath, Michigan - Eagle Eye Golf Club, (Michigan State, host)
Las Vegas, Nevada - Bear's Best Las Vegas (UNLV, host)
Norman, Oklahoma - Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Oklahoma, host)
Morgan Hill, California - The Institute Golf Club (San Jose State, host)
