March 16, 2008
PHOTO GALLERY
Linger Longer Invitational Final Combined Results
Linger Longer Invitational Final Individual Results
GREENSBORO, Ga. - Oliver West led the Kennesaw State men's golf team to an eighth place tie at the Linger Longer Invitational today. The Owls (285-301-304-890) put together a 304 total in Sunday's final round to finish tied with Eastern Michigan, two strokes behind No. 14 Clemson in seventh place.
West (67-74-75-216) closed with a 75 to finish in a tie for ninth at 216, ahead of a number of top 50 golfers including Georgia's Adam Mitchell (10), Hudson Swofford (16), and Harris English (31). English finished tied for 11th while Mitchell and Swofford tied for 30th.
After turning in a three-over par 39 on the front nine and falling out of the top 10, the Owls redshirt senior from Birmingham, England shot an even-par 36 on the backside to move back up the leaderboard to ninth.
West finished tied for third in par three scoring (2.92) and tied for fourth in par five scoring (4.67). He also birdied the most difficult hole on the course twice, turning in three's on the par four twelfth on Friday and in Sunday's final round.
The top 10 finish was West's third in as many tries this spring, marking the longest such streak in his college career.
The remainder of the Owls squad turned in top 50 performances of their own in Greensboro. Michael Tulacz finished tied for 38th while J.P. Putnam, Bryan Alred, and Matthew Nagy all finished bunched in a tie for 46th.
Tulacz (72-74-77-223), who finished tied for third in par five scoring (4.58) and fourth in birdies (12), birdied his last hole of the tournament to finish in the top half of the field at 223.
Putnam (76-77-75-228) tied West for KSU's best round of the day, following up his 38 on the frontside with a 37 down the stretch. It was the third-straight event for Putnam since joining the Owls over the winter break, and his Sunday total was his best of the tournament.
Nagy (75-76-77-228) looked good in his morning nine, turning in an even par 36 in the tough conditions. Miscues on the thirteenth and eighteenth turned into double bogeys and led to a disappointing 41 on the backside for the lone Owls freshman in the competition.
Alred (-228) couldn't recover from a stretch of bogeys on holes six through 10, finishing tied with his teammates for 46th after starting the day in a tie for 38th. The Owls sophomore looked like he was getting things turned around with birdies on 11 and 14, but his progress was derailed with bogeys on the final two holes.
"Unfortunately we did not take advantage of some really solid play the first few days and wound up backing up a few spots," said Kennesaw State head coach Blake Smart on his team's finish. "This is our third appearance at this event, and for the first time other teams knew we were there and had to worry about us. That is where we want to be."
Though they fell two spots on the leaderboard on Sunday, the Owls finished ahead of No. 32 Michigan (10th, 302-296-296-894) and No. 29 Mississippi State (t-13th, 293-310-305).
They bested their previous best team total at the Linger Longer by more than 12 strokes with the 890, and their tie for eighth was also a team-high.
"All-in-all it was a great week and great experience for our guys," added Smart. "We will spend a few weeks preparing for the Larry Nelson and try to build some good hard competitive fire so we can come out sharp and hopefully win our own event."
They will officially prepare for two weeks before playing host to the inaugural Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational on March 31st and April 1st at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga. The Kennesaw State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Gwinnett County Sports Commission will team up to host 14 Division I men's and women's teams at the two-day event.
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