ORLANDO, FLA. (Oct. 24, 2006) -- The Georgia State men's golf team finished in 14th-place after a 22-over day and a final round total of 310 at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational.
Texas captured the team title finishing at 12-over for the tournament. Georgia's Brian Harman was the medalist finishing at even par for the tournament.
Teams could not escape the high numbers in the final round with no teams finishing the day under par and very few teams finished with single-digit over par scores.
"We saw the seasons change in Orlando from 90 degrees in the first round to 40 degrees and a stiff 20 mph wind in the final round," said head coach Matt Clark. "Combine that with some amazing hole locations and you have some high scores and a humbling of some college golfers."
State had a roller coaster final round as well. At one point, the Panthers had climbed all the way to the seventh spot in the team rankings after finishing their first nine holes. State started the round at the No. 10 hole and turned to the front nine for its final nine holes and found out why such high numbers were being posted.
Seniors Derek Oakey, Ben Taylor, junior Joel Sjoholm and freshman Tom Sherreard were in good shape after their first nine holes. Oakey was 1-under, Sjoholm sat at even par, Taylor was 2-over and Sherreard was at 3-over. Once the team turned, the high numbers began to crop up.
Sjoholm finished the day at 8-over par and Taylor ended at 12-over. Sherreard remained consistent and ended the day at 4-over par. Senior Morgan Nix had a great final nine holes at 3-over par and finished the day at 10-over.
Oakey continued to battle and even birdied the last hole to finish the day at even par and claim his first ever top 10 finish at 5-over par for the tournament. Oakey's previous best finish was 19th at the 2003 Atlantic Sun Championships.
Sherreard and Sjoholm finished the tournament tied for 35th-place at 11-over par. Taylor finished tied for 66th-place at 17-over par. Nix finished 89th at 40-over par.
"We made a great run on the back nine but just couldn't finish the deal," Clark said. "I am proud of Derek Oakey for hanging in there and turning in one of the best rounds of his career. Ben Taylor was on crutches three weeks ago but he still managed to play in three tournaments and captured one top 20. I like what we accomplished this spring sememster. I like how we competed and I am looking forward to the spring season."
State finished ahead of three teams ranked in the top 50. No. 24 Texas Tech finished in 17th place, No. 38 South Carolina finished in 16th place and No. 32 Central Florida finished in 18th place.
"The Georgia State golf family will now cheer on all our former players competing at Q-School and Mark at the World Amateur."
This is the last event of the Panthers' fall schedule. Sophomore Mark Haastrup will compete in the Western Refining All-American Nov. 20-21 in El Paso, Texas.
Team Scores
Individual Scores
T10 Derek Oakey 73-76-72= 221 +5
T36 Tom Sherreard 77-74-76= 227 +11
T36 Joel Sjoholm 73-74-80= 227 +11
T66 Ben Taylor 74-75-84= 233 +17
89 Morgan Nix 86-88-82= 256 +40
