By: by Krissy Wade
HATTIESBURG, Miss.- After a rain-soaked Monday left the field at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate with 36 holes to complete on Tuesday, KSU sophomore Jeff Karlsson took advantage of the soft conditions and fired consecutive rounds of 67-65 to finish with a score of -10 (203) and win the individual title by one stroke at the tournament held at Hattiesburg Country Club in Hattiesburg, Miss.
“I was very proud of Jeff’s performance,” Head Coach Jay Moseley said. “He was really excited to get a win under his belt. He played great.”
The Owls shot an overall score of +3 (855) to finish in a tie for fifth in the 15-team field with UL-Lafayette, 10 strokes behind overall winner Southeastern Louisiana. After the first round, the Owls were tied for fifth with Louisiana Lafayette with an even par total of 284.
Due to an hour and a half rain delay, the golfers were only able to make it completely through one round on Monday, leaving them with extra golf to be played on the final day at the tournament hosted by Southern Mississippi.
The Owls were led on Monday by seniors J.P. Putnam and Chad Wilson, who both finished up the round at one under par. Karlsson was solid in round one, as well, firing an even-par 71. Freshman, Greg O’Connor and senior Alex Jones, rounded out the scoring at two over par, 73, and seven over, 78, respectively.
“I was very pleased with the way we got out and took advantage of good scoring conditions,” Moseley said following Monday's play. “Although, we did not finish the round off the way we wanted to, I am very pleased with the efforts from everyone on the team and the experience from today will be valuable for us in the future.”
After the second day of competition, in addition to Karlsson’s first place ranking, Putnam finished the tournament tied for tenth place, at three under, 210. Rounding out the scoring for the Owls was Wilson at +4 (217), O’Connor at +12 (225), and Jones at +20 (233).
“The guys fought really hard,” Moseley said. “J.P. had a great finish to his round and the other guys played well also. We didn’t finish off the day the way we wanted, but all in all it was a great start to our year.
“Now that we have completed our first tournament, we have a better idea about the things we need to improve on, and we can move forward from there. We are very excited about where things are going.”
The Owls will return to action when they travel to Daufuskie Island, S.C., to compete in the Rees Jones Invitational on Oct. 5-6.
Final Individual Results
1. Jeff Karlsson- 71-67-65 203 (-10)
T10. J.P. Putnam- 70-69-71 210 (-3)
T37. Chad Wilson- 70-74-73 217 (+4)
T-66. Greg O’Connor- 73-76-76 225 (+12)
82. Alex Jones- 78-79-76 233 (+20)
Final Team Results
1. Southeastern Louisiana- 281 284 280 845 (-7)
T2. Memphis- 277 285 284 846 (-6)
T2. New Orleans- 289 270 287 846 (-6)
4. Arkansas State- 280 283 291 854 (+2)
T5. Kennesaw State- 284 286 285 855 (+3)
T5. Louisiana-Lafayette- 284 288 283 855 (+3)
7. Southern Mississippi- 286 292 278 856 (+4)
8. Mississippi State- 290 283 284 857 (+5)
9. Louisiana Tech- 291 285 284 860 (+8)
10. Arkansas-Little Rock- 280 294 287 861 (+9)
11. Murray State (Ky.)- 293 283 286 862 (+10)
12. Jacksonville State (Ala.)-290 288 289 867 (+15)
T13. Troy (Ala.)- 294 283 292 869 (+17)
T13. Winthrop (SC)- 296 278 295 869 (+17)
15. Austin Peay (Tenn.)- 293 289 297 879 (+27)
