Owls Ninth at Linger Longer Invitational

Karlsson's final round 71 puts him in top ten in impressive field

3/28/2010 9:45:08 PM

By: by Scott Lipsky

Tournament Page

GREENSBORO, Ga. – Two Owls had their best rounds of the weekend on Sunday, and the Kennesaw State men’s golf team was propelled to their best round of the tournament and a ninth place finish as co-hosts of the Linger Longer Invitational at The Landings at Reynolds Plantation.

The tournament, which Kennesaw State co-hosted with Atlantic Sun Conference rival Mercer, featured six of the nation’s top-25 ranked teams. The Owls were able to hold their own, as their final round of 296 was just ten shots higher than that of number-two ranked Oklahoma State, who used their two-under 286 on Sunday to preserve victory in the tournament, with a final score of one-over par 865. Overall, the Owls came in with a score of 38-over par 902.

The Owls’ number one golfer in their lineup, sophomore Jeff Karlsson, was up there with the best of the competition, closing strong with a one-under par 71 to finish at one-over par 217 in a tie for seventh in the 88-player event. His round on Sunday featured four birdies and an eagle, his eagle coming on the par-5 second hole, which he also eagled on Saturday. Among the players he beat in the event were eight players ranked in the top 50 nationally.

“I feel really good that I was able to finish in the top 10 this weekend. My putting could have been improved, and obviously there were some shots that I left out on the golf course, but to compete with some of the best golfers in the country and to beat some of them is very encouraging.”

Senior Alex Jones shot his best round of the tournament on Sunday, firing a very consistent one-over par 73 that featured 15 pars. He improved during every round of the tournament, starting with a 79 on Friday before shooting a 77 on Saturday and 73 on Sunday.

The Owls did particularly well on the par-3 11th and par-5 16th holes, on each hole making three birdies and going two-under par. Owls head coach Jay Moseley was pleased with the way his squad played, especially on the back nine.

“It was good to see how we finished off our rounds today. We finally played well on the back nine and finished our rounds strong, which will hopefully carry over to our next event,” Moseley said, referring to the fact that his team played the back side in three-over par on Sunday, as opposed to 13-over par on Saturday. “I was proud of Jeff’s play all week. He got back to his normal form and had a great finish among some tough competition.”

Alabama’s Bud Cauley was the individual winner of the event, firing rounds of 64-73-67 to come in at 12-under par 204 and finish six strokes in front of runner-up Kevin Tway of Oklahoma State.

The Owls continue their season next weekend in Charlotte, when they take part in the Irish Creek Collegiate.

Linger Longer Invitational- Final Results