By: by Mark Toma
ONEONTA, Ala.- Kennesaw State struggled through the final round of the Samford Intercollegiate at the Limestone Springs Golf Club on Tuesday to finish in third place, one stroke behind Vanderbilt and Samford.
“We didn’t score well on Tuesday and I am disappointed with our finish,” said head coach Jay Moseley. “We had the lead all day Monday and let a few holes slip away at the end of the second round and we had the same thing happen in the final round.”
The Owls (283-292-303-878, +14) finished 11 strokes worse from the second round to the third round, and fell off from the first round to the second round after leading the event by a stroke after the first round. Kennesaw State was tied with No. 56-ranked Vanderbilt at 1-under par, 576 headed into the third round before shooting 15-over par, 303 in the final round.
“We have a lot of work to do,” added Moseley. “We didn’t capitalize on birdie opportunities and made too many mistakes on that course and it came back to bite us. Our guys did learn a lot this week and I know they will continue to improve.”
Kennesaw State finished tied with Murray State for third place and finished ahead of Georgia State (307-290-294-891, +27) by 13 strokes, Evansville (297-292-304-893, +29) by 15 strokes and Atlantic Sun Conference rival Belmont (298-300-302-900, +36) by 36 strokes.
Jeff Karlsson was able to overcome his final round score for a second place finish, as he trailed Samford’s Casey O’Toole by seven strokes. Karlsson led O’Toole by one stroke headed into Tuesday’s final round and finished the event with a 2-over par 74 on Tuesday after shooting a 67 in the first round and a 70 in the second round.
“Jeff played great this week,” added Moseley. “He hit the ball unbelievably well, he just didn’t putt well. But, I was impressed with his second place finish”
J.P. Putnam (68-73-78-219, +3) finished tied for 11th place after shooting a 6-over par 78 in the final round. Putnam’s scores increased by five strokes each round after he began the tournament with a scorching 4-under par 68.
Peder Hermansson (72-75-78-225, +9) finished tied for 22nd place as his scores increased by three strokes after beginning play with an even-par 72 on Monday. Alex Jones (76-76-75-227, +11) finished tied for 33rd place while Sam Curtis (78-74-76-228, +12) finished tied for 37th in the 75-player field.
The Owls will be back in action on March 14-15 when they will participate in the General Hackler Championship hosted by Coastal Carolina at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, S.C.
