Panthers Finish Fifth at Jerry Pate

BIRMINGHAM, AL (Oct. 10, 2006) -- The Georgia State men's golf stayed right where they were after Day 1 finishing in fifth place (277-280-276) at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, Tuesday.

The Panthers shot a 276 on Tuesday to finish the tournament at 19-under par. Host team Alabama captured the title with a 33-under par performance.

State finished ahead of several ranked teams including East Tennessee State, which was ranked just behind the Panthers at No. 10, Tulsa (34th) and Auburn (38th).

Sophomore Mark Haastrup bested his previous low tournament score with a 201 to finish tied for second place. Haastrup shot a closing round of 67 Tuesday to finish two shots behind medalist Joseph Sykora who finished at 14-under for the tournament. Haastrup broke his lowest score on Monday after shooting a 63 to open the tournament. His previous lowest tournament score was a 205, which won him the 2005 Carpet Capital title.

Haastrup enterd the tournament ranked 244th individually after the 2006 Carpet Capital. He can expect to see his ranking climb after his second place finish, which put him ahead of several golfers ranked above him including Purdue's Tom Oliver (4th), LSU's Brian Noonan (10th) and Tulsa's Brett Myers (13th).

Junior Joel Sjoholm finished tied for 14th place after a final round score of 68. Sjoholm finished with a 208 total for the tournament. Sjoholm was ranked 21st individually entering this tournament, and his 14th-place finish also put him ahead of several golfers ranked in front of him including Oliver (4th), Noonan (10th) and Myers (13th).

Senior Ben Taylor shot a closing round of 70 to finish tied for 20th place with a 209 total.

Freshman Tom Sherreard closed with a 71 and tied for 44th place. Senior Derek Oakey ended his day with a round of 74 to put him tied for 49th.

State will be in action Oct. 22-24 in Orlando, Fla. for the Isleworth Intercollegiate Invitational.