Georgia State Men s Golf Newsletter

Transcription

1 Georgia State Men s Golf Newsletter From the Coaches Desk... Well, we now have played three tournaments since our last newsletter and Jared and I have run the gamut of emotions. Our first tournament at Haig Point hit us right in the gut. Our performance was abysmal, BUT the guys regrouped, realized that they were not ready for the first event and buckled down to business. We had a good but not great showing at the Brickyard in Macon and then we had a GREAT AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic win. At our tournament, there were 11 teams ranked in the top Last year at conference, we lost the tournament in the last two holes. This year at Berkeley Hills, we won the tournament in the last two holes. It was a huge step for their confidence and self-esteem. As I sit here writing this, we leave in less than our hour for our last tournament in the fall in Greensboro, N.C. I feel like our team is prepared and motivated to keep our momentum going from our event. I said to you all summer and at the start of the year we had a NCAA Regional-caliber team and maybe even a finals team. I believe we are moving on that direction. Shout-out to Tyler Gruca for the best round of his college career (65) and best finish of his college career last week. Shout-out to Nathan Mallonee our freshman for two solid tournaments at Brickyard and AutoTrader.com. To win our event with our All-American from last year J.J. Grey finishing last by three shots really gives us confidence for the rest of the year. J.J. has been working hard to get back to where he was and I feel like this week he will have a good tournament and go into the off-season ready to lead again. He is a great young man who just clearly shows you what heightened expectations can do to one s golf game. He has been putting too much pressure on himself, but has his feet back on the ground and when we get him going with everyone else, I like our chances. Keep us in your thoughts this weekend. I think we are ready and we will have a good tournament. We will talk again in a few weeks. Go Panthers! From the Editor s Desk... What a start to the season! In a matter of three weeks, we have had enough highs and lows to last for a lifetime. Coming into the season, there were high expectations by all heading to Haig Point for the Rees Jones Intercollegiate. After an 11th place finish, many of us were left scratching our heads. But how things can change, and change quickly. With a win at the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic last Tuesday, we got back to where we thought we should be. The team played extremely well, finish at 19-under and earning a two-stroke win over top-25 South Florida. It was one of the best performances in the history of the program and all of a sudden, momentum is back in our favor. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Auto- Trader.com, all of our sponsors, the staff, members and volunteers at Berkeley Hills Country Club and everyone associated with putting on the event. It could not have been possible without their help and I hope that the win is an extra thank-you for your efforts. There is a lot to talk about in this month s newsletter. We will recap the first three events of the year, take a look at the first-ever GSU men s golf reunion, see how our Panther Pros are doing and announce the winners of our College-Am as a part of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic. Once again, thank you to everyone who helped make this year s event a great one. We hope we made you proud and we hope to continue to make you proud the rest of the year. In this Issue... Page 2... Men s Golf Reunion Page 2...Panthers in the Pros Update Page Fall Recaps Page Schedule Page 5... Booster Club Information Page 6...Panther Athletic Club Page Statistics Check out S for the latest Panther updates

2 Georgia State Welcomes Back Former Golfers Prior to the start of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic, Georgia State welcomed back its former men s golfers for the first time at a reunion on Oct. 12. The event brought together several generations of golfers for an afternoon of fun, food and football. Golfers from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s returned for an event at the Georgia Dome. The day started with a tailgate prior to the Georgia State football homecoming game against Troy. Following a feast of food from Le French Quarter Café and a lot of catching up, the team enjoyed the Panthers near upset of the Trojans in front of 17,000-plus in the Georgia Dome. It was a great event, head coach Joe Inman said. Over the years, I have talked to a lot of our former golfers, but we have never had a chance to get them all together. For the first time doing this, it was a great success and we are already starting to discuss plans for next year. The men s golf program at Georgia State has been very successful over the years and to see everyone come back and get a chance to talk about the old times was a lot of fun. We great memories for Georgia State. About 10 former players and their families showed up the event, with several more asking to be kept I the loop for next year. Former players interested in being placed on a contact list for next year s event can reach out to Associate Sports Com- munications Director Mike Holmes at rholmes@gsu.edu. Panthers in the Pros Update The 2013 golf season is starting to drawn to a close around the world. Here is a look at how some former Panthers are currently doing: Joel Sjoholm Joel had his best showing of the year last week at the ISPS HANDA Perth International, finishing tied for seventh following rounds of The result propelled him to No. 138 on the money list, outside of the needed top 115 to earn his card automatically for next year, however, good enough to advance him to the final stage of European Tour Q-School. What did he do to celebrate: He jumped on a plane to Atlanta and is currently in Pine Mountain at Web.com Q-School. He opened play Tuesday and Wednesday with rounds of 67 and 76 to stand tied for 35th entering Thursday. The top-30 and ties will advance to the second stage in November. Earlier in the month, Joel tied for 68th at the Portugal Masters, shooting Jonathan Fricke Joel is joined by another former Panther at Callaway Gardens this week. Jonathan opened play with rounds of 72 and 69 to stand tied for 19th at Web.com Q-School with two rounds to play. In his two events last month, Fricke missed the cut at the Salisbury Classic and Columbia Classic. Tom Sherreard Tom advanced to the second stage of European PGA Tour Q-School a few weeks ago. He will play again in stage two in a few weeks in Spain. If he can make it to the final stage, he should get to play in some European Challenge Tour events next season. Steven Tiley Tiley had a pair of top-35 finishes last month. He finished tied for 32nd at the Kazakhstan Open, shooting a secondround 65. He also finished tied for 22nd at the Kharkov Superior Cup, opening the tournament with rounds of 68 and 69. He closed the month with a tie for 40th at the Northern Ireland Open, shooting Tiley is currently ranked No. 35 on the European Challenge Tour this season, with the top-15 at the end of the year advancing to the European PGA Tour in Mark Haastrup Mark continues his climb on the European Challenge Tour, playing several events over the last month. He tied for fifth at the Kharkov Superior Cup, opening with rounds of 68 and 69. He tied for 11th at the Open Blue Green Cotes d Armor Bretagne with a second round 65. He also tied for 60th at the Kazakhstan Open. He is currently ranked 60th on the European Challenge Tour money list, but has also played barely half the events as most. Remember to keep an eye on GeorgiaStateSports.com for weekend golf updates and news as it breaks in regards to these great former Panthers.

3 Panthers Win AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic Georgia State shot a final round 8-under 280, its lowest score since 2008, to claim a two-stroke victory at the third annual AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic at Berkeley Hills Country Club. South Florida s Chase Koepka, ranked No. 13 in the nation, claimed low medalist honors by two-strokes, finishing the 54-hole event at 10-under. Georgia State finished its only home event of the year with a tournament-record 19-under total, which also tied for the seventh lowest three-round score in school history. The Panthers topped No. 28 South Florida which finished in second at 17-under, with Sun Belt foe South Alabama coming in third at 15-under. Chattanooga finished fourth at 9-under, with No. 37 Kentucky jumping to fifth at 8-under. Panther senior Tyler Gruca tied for second with Chattanooga s Liam Johnson for second at 8-under par. Mercer s Trey Rule and Kentucky s Ben Stow finished tied for fourth at 7-under. Kentucky shot the round of the day, an impressive 13-under 275, the second-lowest score in tournament history, nearly topping the record of 273 set by Chattanooga yesterday. What a great tournament, head coach Joe Inman said. I am so proud of our guys. They defended their home course and gave us a lot of confidence going into the last tournament of the fall. We have come a long way and all of the hard work paid off today. I would like to thank Berkeley Hills, the staff, members and all of the volunteers who made this year such a great success. We could not put on a first-class event without the help of so many first-class individuals. Gruca s second place finished tied a career-best set at the 2012 Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate. His 208 total also set a new career-low by seven strokes. He shot 65 on Monday, just one-stroke off the Berkeley Hills Country Club course record and two-strokes shy of a GSU record. Freshman Nathan Mallonee also had a career-best tournament, Georgia State shot a final-round 5-over 293 to finish ninth at the seventh annual Brickyard Collegiate. Annually one of the toughest tournaments in the southeast, the field featured six teams in the top-30 in the country. Junior Davin White shot his second consecutive 2-under 70 to finish at 4-under and in a tie for 12th. White has finished in the top-12 in three of his last four tournaments dating back to last year. With the help of shooting its lowest-round in a nearly a year on Saturday, Georgia State finished the 54-hole event at 6-over. Although we would have liked to finish a few spots higher, I think we have a lot of our confidence back after a rough start to the season, head coach Joe Inman said. We played with some of the best teams in the country and now understand where we are. We have a little bit of work to do, but are not far off. We now turn our attention to our home tournament. Just like Mercer did this week, we need to take advantage of our home course knowledge and put together an impressive performance next week. White s round included five birdies, including three-straight over the final three holes. He made 13 birdies in the tournament. Sophomore Jonathan J.J. Grey shot a final round 2-over 74 to finish tied for 22nd at even par. Grey, who won the event last year, made four birdies in the final round, but two double bogeys derailed what could have been a third-straight round of par or better. Junior Damon Stephenson also shot a final-round 2-over 74 and finished tied for 37th at 5-over par. Among those he was tied with was freshman Nathan Mallonee, who shot a 3-over 75 on Sunday. Mallonee was mak- finishing tied for sixth at 6-under. After opening the tournament with rounds of 69 and 72 on Monday, he shot another 69 on Tuesday. Junior Damon Stephenson shot a final round 2-under 70 to finish at 4-under par and tied for 12th. Fellow junior Davin White shot a finalround 71 to tie for 25th at 1-over. Sophomore Jonathan J.J. Grey finished tied for 43rd at 4-over. He finished the tournament on Tuesday with an even-par 72. Four Panther seniors also competed in the event as individuals in the 84-man field. Victor Lavin shot a final-round 72 to finish alone in 20th at 1-under. Ross Mclister tied for 43rd at 4-over following a final round 74, while Hamilton Grant Cagle shot a final round 2-under 70 to tie for 63rd at 8-over. Kevin Lee rounded out the Panthers line-up with a finalround 81 to tie for 78th at 15-over. Davin White Leads Panthers at Brickyard ing his collegiate debut for the Panthers. Senior Tyler Gruca shot a final-round 5-over 77 and finished 12-over for the event, tied for 68th. Senior Grant Cagle, competing as an individual, shot a finalround 72 to finish tied for 61st at 10-over par. Host Mercer put together an impressive 27-under par total to win the event following a final-round 281. Georgia Tech finished second at 25-under, followed by Virginia Tech in third at 15-under. Georgia finished fourth at 11-under, with South Florida finishing in fifth-place at 4-under. The Panthers were just one-stroke behind GRU-Augusta (formerly Augusta State) and five-strokes behind Florida State and Louisville. Mercer s Emmanuel Kountakis and Hans Reimers, along with Georgia Tech s Seth Reeves were named co-champions after all finished at 9-under. Georgia Tech s Ollie Schneiderjans and Virginia Tech s Scott Vincent tied for fourth at 8-under.

4 College-Am Another Great Success As part of the third annual AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic, teams came together on Sunday, Oct. 13, for the annual college-am. A great time was had by all in the Shamble format. Groups of four amateurs played with one college player. Each school in the field for the event volunteered one of their players for the afternoon at Berkeley Hills. It should be of no surprise that a team consisting of three former college players, plus Mercer s Trey Rule won the event. Craig Inman, son of head coach Joe Inman, George Sertl, Cam Griffin and Brett Whitehead shot a 55 for a five-stroke win. Whitehead played in the inaugural AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic two years ago as a member of the Wofford golf team. Second place went to a team put together by Hennessey Automotive and included Craig Anderson, Hayes Brown, David Machost and Phil Cauthen. The group shot a 60 playing with South Florida s Trey Valentine. Third place went to Greg Coleman and Warren White, who teamed up with two college players, VCU s Rocky Khara and Kentucky s Cody Martin to shoot 62. Following golf, teams joined the college players for a banquet in the Berkeley Hills Country Club Clubhouse to talk about the day and the teams expectations for the season. On behalf of the Georgia State men s golf team, we would like to thank everyone who came out and played. Panthers Open Season at Rees Jones Windy and tough-scoring conditions led Georgia State to an 11thplace finish at the Rees Jones Invitational. The Panthers shot a final round 320 as the field s scoring average was strokes per player, two-and-ahalf strokes harder than the first two rounds. Junior Damon Stephenson finished tied for 27th after shooting a final-round 79 to finish the 54-hole event at 11-over par. Today was a tough day all-around, head coach Joe Inman said. We put ourselves up against a wall and tried to fight back, but unfortunately things got tougher. Often trying harder in golf leads to worse results and that is a lesson I think we learned today. Junior Davin White also shot a final round 79 and finished tied for 30th at 12-over. Senior Tyler Gruca shot an 81 on Tuesday to tie for 37th at 15-over, while sophomore Jonathan J.J. Grey also shot a final round 81. Grey finished tied for 57th at 22-over. Senior Kevin Lee rounded out the Panthers line-up with a final round 84, finishing tied for 65th at 26-over. Senior Victor Lavin, competing as an individual, tied for 54th at 21-over following a final round 81. Kennesaw State secured the team title with the best-round of the day on Tuesday, a 10-over 298. The Owls finished the event 21-over, earning a two-stroke victory over South Florida and host South Carolina, each of which finished 23-over. USF s Chase Koepka shot 74 in the final round to secure a fourstroke win as the only golfer to break par in the event. Koepka finished at 4-under, followed by UNCW s Payne McLeod in second at even. Winthrop s Zach Seabolt finished third at 1-over following a final-round 71. South Carolina s Matthew NeSmith and Kennesaw State s Austin Vick tied for fourth at 2-over par SCHEDULE Date Day Tournament Course (Location) Result Fall /22-24 Sun.-Tues. Rees Jones Invitational Haig Point Golf Club (Daufuskie Island, S.C.) 11th of 12 10/4-6 Fri.-Sun. Brickyard Collegiate Brickyard at Riverside (Macon, Ga.) 9th of 14 10/14-15 Mon.-Tues. AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic Berkeley Hills CC (Duluth, Ga.) 1st of 14 10/26-27 Sat.-Sun. UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Grandover Resort (East) Greensboro, N.C. Spring /17-18 Mon.-Tues. Mobile Bay Intercollegiate Magnolia Grove Crossings G.C. Mobile, Ala. 2/24-25 Mon.-Tues. Jones Sports Invitational Saticoy Country Club Somis, Calif. 3/10-11 Mon.-Tues. Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate Palmetto Golf Club Aiken, S.C. 3/14-16 Fri.-Sun. Schenkel Invitational Forest Heights Country Club Statesboro, Ga. 3/28-30 Fri.-Sun. Furman Intercollegiate Furman University Golf Club Greenville, S.C. 4/5-6 Sat.-Sun. Irish Creek Intercollegiate The Club at Irish Creek Kannapolis, N.C. 4/21-23 Mon.-Wed. Sun Belt Championship Grand Bear Golf Course Saucier, Miss. 5/15-17 Thurs.-Sat. NCAA Regionals Six Sites National tba 5/30-6/4 Tues.-Sun. NCAA Championships Prairie Dunes Golf Club Wichita, Kan.

5 Booster Club Information The season is just around the corner and the work continues for the Panther Men s Golf Booster Club which is continuing to look for your support as we prepare for a run at another NCAA Championship. With your support, we can continue a tradition that started over a decade ago as one of the premier golf programs in the country. Membership in the Panther Men s Golf Booster Club is an annual membership beginning each January and running through the following December. Members of every level will receive a copy of our monthly newsletter, a copy of the team media guide and this season s official Georgia State cap or visor of your choosing. To show our appreciation for your involvement, each level of giving receives a special bonus. We would also love to invite all of our boosters to come and follow our guys at tournaments, so please let us know if you are coming and we will introduce you to everyone. Donation $100 $250 $500 $1,000 $2,500 Patron Saint Benefi ts Georgia State Cap or Visor x x x x x Call Coach Inman Georgia State Golf Shirt x x x x for details Georgia State tailgate Chair x x x Georgia State Logo Moon-lite Walking Golf Bag x x Round of Golf w/ Team at Booster Club Event x What Does Your Money Do? The money donated to the Panther Men s Golf Booster Club will help support our team at tournaments throughout the season and help us obtain some of our goals, including a home practice facility, team van and full-time assistant coach. As travel continues to become more expensive, your donations will help to ease those costs as well as allow us to schedule the best tournaments throughout the country to continue to get the word out about Georgia State golf. We have big plans for the future of our team and we want it to become your team as well. As always, feel free to contact us anytime with any questions that you might have. Panther Men s Golf Booster Club Name Levels of Giving Address Par $100 Friend $2500 Birdie $250 Patron Saint Phone Eagle $500 Ace $1000 By checking this box, you choose NOT to accept booster gifts. Your entire donation will be tax deductable. Please circle or write-in choice Instructions 1. Fill out the form completely and cut along the dotted line. 2. Make Checks payable to the Georgia State University Foundation 3. In the Memo/Subject line, please write in Men s Golf 4. Address the envelope to: Panther Men s Golf Booster Club Attn. Joe Inman 125 Decatur Street - Suite 201 Atlanta, GA 30303

6 Dear Valued Friend, The Panther Athletic Club (PAC) serves as the official fundraising arm of the Georgia State University Department of Athletics. The mission of the PAC is to maximize annual unrestricted support that provides funding for athletic scholarships, facilities, recruiting, travel and other budget-relieving expenses of the program. To provide important opportunities requires incredible commitment from a generous group of supporters. Supporters of GSU Athletics through the PAC are an integral part of an active and meaningful support structure that educates, houses, trains and coaches GSU student-athletes. A student-athlete s experience directly involves you. Your support in the stands drives GSU student-athletes to their best in competition and in the classroom. Your annual gift builds the foundation for their success. To learn how you cam become part of the growing PAC membership, please contact one of the Panther Athletic Club staff members by calling the PAC office at Your gift directly impacts the lives of over 360 student-athletes. Join the PAC today! Go Panthers! Warmest Regards, Panther Athletic Club

7 Georgia State Golf Statistics Finishes Rounds Played Stroke Averages Round Breakdown Name Trn. T10 T25 HtH Rec. Rds Cnt Pct Strokes Avg. F all Spring 1st rd Last rd Low 60s <Par +/- Grant Cagle * Jonathan Grey Tyler Gruca Victor Lavin * Kevin Lee Nathan Mallonee Ross Mclister * Damon Stephenson Davin White TEAM * competed as individual REES JONES INVITATIONAL Sept Daufuskie Island, S.C. Haig Point Golf Club 11th/12 teams t27 Damon Stephenson t30 Davin White t37 Tyler Gruca t52 Victor Lavin* t57 Jonathan Grey t65 Kevin Lee *competed as an individual BRICKYARD COLLEGIATE Oct. 4-6 Macon, Ga. Brickyard at Riverside 9th/14 teams t12 Davin White t22 Jonathan Grey t37 Damon Stephenson t37 Nathan Mallonee t61 Grant Cagle* t68 Tyler Gruca *competed as an individual MOBILE BAY INTERCOLLEGIATE Feb Mobile, Ala. Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Club JONES SPORTS INVITATIONAL Feb Somis, Calif. Saticoy Country Club CLEVELAND GOLF PALMETTO INTERCOLLEGIATE Mar Aiken, S.C. Palmetto Golf Club SCHENKEL INVITATIONAL Mar Statesboro, Ga. Forest Heights Country Club FURMAN INTERCOLLEGIATE Mar Greenville, S.C. Furman University Golf Club IRISH CREEK INTERCOLLEGIATE April 4-5 Kannapolis, N.C. The Club at Irish Creek SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP April Saucier, Miss. Grand Bear Golf Course AUTOTRADER.COM COLLEGIATE CLASSIC Oct Duluth, Ga. Berkeley Hills Golf Club 1st/14 teams t2 Tyler Gruca t6 Nathan Mallonee t12 Damon Stephenson Victor Lavin* t25 Davin White t43 Ross Mclister* t43 Jonathan Grey t63 Grant Cagle* t78 Kevin Lee* *competed as an individual UNCG BRIDGESTONE COLLEGIATE Oct Greensboro, N.C. Grandover Resort (East Course) Team and Individual Bests Low Individual 18-hole Score: 65, Tyler Gruca, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic (2nd Round) Low Individual 18-hole Score/Relation to Par: -7 (65) Tyler Gruca, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic (2nd Round) Low Individual 54-hole Score: 208, Tyler Gruca, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic Low Individual 54-hole Score/Relation to Par: -8 (208), Tyler Gruca, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Low Team 18-hole Score: 280, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic (3rd Round) Low Team 18-hole Score in Relation to Par: -8 (280), AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic (3rd Round) Low Team 54-hole Score: 845, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic Low Team 54-hole Score in Relation to Par: -19 (845), AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic Best Team Finish: 1st, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic Best Individual Finish in a Team Event: t2, Tyler Gruca, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic