April 14, 2009
Final team and Player Leaderboard
Final Statistics
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Kennesaw State men's golf team turned in a final round 298 at the Palisades Collegiate Classic on Tuesday, dropping a spot on the leaderboard to finish 11th with an 888 54- hole total.
The event, the Owls last warm-up before next week's Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, was played at the 6,797-yard, par-72 Palisades Golf and Country Club and hosted by No. 65 Charlotte. Though the field was difficult, featuring four top 100 programs, the 11th place finish is the Owls worst since the Brickyard in October where they finished 15th.
Senior Michael Tulacz was the lone Owl to find the red numbers at an event that saw nearly 20 golfers finish par or better, shooting a final round 70 to come in tied for 26th. His three-over par 219 total put him just three strokes out of the top 20, but 19 behind individual champion Mike van Sickle of Marquette who carded an impressive 16-under par 200.
J.P. Putnam, who led the Owls after 36 holes and tied for third in par five scoring (4.42), came back to the pack in the final round after turning in a three-over 75. The junior from Woodstock finished tied for 35th with a 222 total.
Matthew Nagy and Jeff Karlsson turned in the Black and Gold's final two qualifying scores on Tuesday. Nagy tied for 42nd after closing with a 75 to total 225, while Karlsson slid backwards with a final round 78 to tie for 45th at 226. Chad Wilson's 79 on Tuesday landed him in a tie for 53rd, a stroke behind Karlsson.
No. 74 Virginia Commonwealth led wire-to-wire to take the team title, coming in with a 21-under par 836 to hold off No. 41 Louisville (290-267-286-843) who finished in second place. Marquette came in third at 858, with Old Dominion (868) and Belmont Abbey (873) rounding out the top five.
The Owls will get a week off to tune up their games before traveling to Buies Creek, N.C. for the Conference Championship on April 20-22. They turned in their best finish ever as hosts last season, tying Campbell for third, while North Florida edged East Tennessee State for the title.
