April 1, 2008
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Men's Final Results
Women's Final Results
BRASELTON, Ga. - The sun peaked through the clouds for the first time in three days as the winners were announced, Tuesday at the inaugural Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational hosted by Kennesaw State University and the Gwinnett Sports Commission. The host Owls emerged victorious on the men's side while Chattanooga climbed up the leaderboard from third place to claim the women's title.
Kennesaw State (296-285-297-878), who held a 24-stroke lead heading into the final 18, used a solid all-around team performance to best their closest competitor, Campbell, by 22 strokes. All five Owl golfers finished in the top 25, led by J.P. Putnam's fifth place showing.
"Our guys went out there today and did what they needed to do to seal the deal," said Kennesaw State head coach Blake Smart on his team's first win of the year. "I have been saying all season that we would need a team performance to get ourselves into the winners circle, and we turned one in this week."
Putnam (78-69-72-219) followed up a two-under par second round 69 with a solid final round 72 on a day that saw only five golfers in the entire field record par or better rounds. The sophomore from Woodstock, Ga., finished third in par 5 scoring (4.78) and fifth in par 4 scoring (4.09) and birdies (9). It was Putnam's second top 5 finish since joining the Owls at the beginning of the spring season.
Oliver West, who held a share of the lead after 36 holes, fell back a few spots after closing with a 79, but still managed his fourth top 10 finish of the spring. West birdied his last hole of the day to move up to solo sixth. Though he only managed to find the red numbers once in the final 18, West finished tied for fourth in both birdies (10) and par 4 scoring (4.06)
Matthew Nagy and Michael Tulacz rounded out the scoring for the Owls on Tuesday, finishing tied for 11th and 13th respectively. Nagy led the field in par 5 scoring (4.44) after going five-under par on the long holes, and finished third in pars with 35.
Tulacz matched Putnam for the Owls lowest round of the day, using the strength of a three-under par backside to move up the leaderboard from 15th. Had he not been derailed by a double-bogey on his second to last hole, the Owls junior would have posted a one-under round and his first top 10 finish since the Sam Hall Intercollegiate in November when he finished ninth.
Wesley Sheard, who contributed scores in the first two rounds, couldn't find the red numbers on Tuesday, closing with an 81 to finish in solo 21st in his first action since the Owls first tournament of the spring.
"Hopefully we can ride the momentum of this win into Arizona next week," added Smart. "We got a good feel for this course this week, which should help us in a few weeks when we return for the A-Sun Championship."
Four of the top five teams represent the Atlantic Sun Conference, as Campbell (306-299-295-900), Gardner-Webb (315-298-296-909), and Mercer (313-313-287-913) joined KSU at the top of the pack. Division II power, Armstrong Atlantic, rounded out the top five after closing with a 302. The Bears turned in the lowest team round of the day, finishing with a three-over par 287 to move up the leaderboard seven spots.
Central Arkansas' Gideon Pienaar (72-71-72), Mercer's Andrew An (72-73-70), and Armstrong Atlantic's Chris Wolfe (70-71-74) shared the individual title after turning in two-over par 215's. Bill Jones of Mercer shot the low round on Tuesday, firing a three-under 68 to tie West's second round score for the lowest round of the tournament.
Chattanooga (319-306-303-928) outscored South Alabama (309-310-312-931), the 36-hole leader, by nine strokes to take the women's title. The Mocs Emma de Groot (77-74-71-222) was the women's individual champion after turning in the only par or better round of the day. Christine Wolf (75-77-73-225) finished in solo second to give UTC the sweep of the individual honors.
USA, Samford (313-308-312-933), Belmont (321-318-308-947), and Central Arkansas (327-318-303-948) rounded out the top five in the women's field. UCA tied Chattanooga for the lowest round of the day with a 303.
The host Owls (332-315-321-968) struggled under the difficult conditions, closing with a 321 to remain in solo tenth place. Freshmen, Jessica Tarbet, led KSU in the individual competition, finishing in a tie for 20th after closing with a 79. Abby Fitzgerald finished just one stroke behind Tarbet, recording the Black and Gold's lowest round of the day with a 77 to finish tied for 24th.
Both the men's and women's teams get less than a week off before returning to action with westbound road trips. The men will compete in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz. on April 7th-8th while the women will travel to Norman, Okla. for the three-day Susie Maxwell Berning Classic on April 6th-8th.
Statistical Extras
Men's Individual Leaderboard
Men's Statistical Leaders
Men's Course Statistics
Women's Individual Leaderboard
Women's Statistical Leaders
Women's Course Statistics
