March 21, 2009
Final Stats
GREENSBORO, Ga. - The co-hosting Kennesaw State men's golf team finished in the middle of the pack at the prestigious Linger Longer Invitational on Saturday, coming in eighth in the 13-team field that included No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Oklahoma State.
J.P. Putnam and Michael Tulacz led the way for the Owls, finishing tied for 22nd at 223. The Owls as team finished with a 907 total, just one stroke behind seventh place Purdue and 12 shots out of the top five.
Tulacz led the Black and Gold in the first of two rounds on Friday, carding a three-over 74 after closing birdie-eagle on his last two holes. Putnam recorded the Owls second-lowest score, a 76, to help lead the Owls to a 308 total.
Matthew Nagy rebounded from opening 83 to shoot a one-under par 71 in Friday's second round. Putnam improved with a 74 and Tulacz came in at 75 to lead KSU to its lowest round of the tournament, a 298.
The Owls, who started the day in seventh place, closed with a team 301 in Saturday's final round to drop a spot on the leaderboard. Putnam improved for the third-straight round after shooting a 73 while Tulacz tallied a second 74 to round out his total. Freshman Patrick Kenney recorded his best total of the event in the final round after hitting the clubhouse at 77.
Jeff Karlsson and Alex Jones also competed for the Owls. Karlsson contributed a score to the team total in all three rounds and finished tied for 48th, while Jones tied for 63rd playing as an individual.
The top-ranked Bulldogs (291-288-288-867) took the team title by two strokes over Oklahoma State (295-284-290-869). The Cowboys' Trent Whitekiller, playing as an individual, took the individual title at 208 after recording a six-under 66 in the final round. The Owls' Atlantic Sun Conference foe and tournament co-host Mercer finished fourth, led by Bill Jones' tie for 2nd.
The Owls will play host again in a week as they welcome 13 other teams to Chateau Elan for the Second Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational on March 30th and 31st.
