March 31, 2008
Men's Combo Results
Women's Combo Results
BRASELTON, Ga. - After 36 holes of play under overcast skies and blustery cold conditions, the Kennesaw State men and the University of South Alabama women lead their respective fields at the inaugural Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational. The tournament, at Chateau Élan, is hosted by Kennesaw State University, in partnership with the Gwinnett Sports Commission.
The Owls (296-285-591) hold a 24-stroke advantage over their closest competitor, Campbell, heading into Tuesday's final 18. They jumped out to their commanding lead by turning in the two lowest rounds of the day on the par 71 Woodlands Course.
After finishing the opening round just six strokes ahead of Armstrong Atlantic (302-313-615), the Owls took advantage of the calmer afternoon conditions, widening their lead by 18 strokes with a second round 285.
"Today was a good day for our team," said Kennesaw State head men's golf coach Blake Smart on his team's performance. "It takes a team effort to be competitive at the Division I level, and our guys pulled it all together today."
Campbell (306-299-605), Gardner-Webb (315-298-613), Central Arkansas (304-309-613), and Armstrong Atlantic round out the top five in the men's field.
"It would be nice to win our first tournament of the season at a tournament we hosted," added Smart. "Hopefully we can hold it together tomorrow and seal the deal."
KSU's Oliver West and Armstrong Atlantic's Chris Wolfe share the individual lead at one-under par after turning in identical 141's. West, who has finished in the top 10 in three-straight events this spring, improved on a morning 73 by firing the lowest score of the day, a three-under par 68 in the afternoon session.
Wolfe earned his top spot with consistent play, going 70-71 to stand tied with West atop the leaderboard heading into the final round. Wolfe was the only golfer in either field to turn in two par or better rounds on Monday.
The women's field is much tighter at the top, as Samford (313-308-621) and Chattanooga (319-306-325) only trail the Jaguars (309-310-619) by two and six strokes respectively.
South Alabama (309-310-619) held the lead after 18 holes, turning in a morning-best 309 to edge Samford by four-strokes. The Bulldogs trimmed down the lead to two after recording a 308 in the afternoon. Chattanooga and Louisiana Monroe tied for the best second round, leading the way with afternoon 306's.
ULM (331-306-637) and Belmont (321-318-639) round out the top five after 36 holes of play on the par-71 Chateau Course.
ULM's Angela Drane and Wofford's Alex Rankin share the individual lead at eight-over par. Drane turned in back-to-back 75's for her 150, while Rankin opened with the lowest round of the day, a 73, and closed with a 77 for a share of the lead.
Larry Nelson, a Kennesaw alumnus who lent his name to the tournament, served as the keynote speaker at Monday night's banquet. He passed on some of the wisdom that he has gained in his many years playing professionally, entertaining the crowd of nearly 200 with a mix of humor and motivational speaking.
"Larry has been wonderful to work with and has been more than helpful making sure this event was top-notch," said Kennesaw State Director of Golf Operations Dennis Stubblefield. "His speech tonight and the wisdom that he passed on to the student athletes in the audience was just icing on the cake."
Tuesday's final rounds will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. for both the men and the women. Live scoring, provided by Golfstat, can be found by visiting the Kennesaw State Athletics website at www.ksuowls.com and clicking on the link on the right hand side of the page.
