Georgia State senior Joel Sjoholm took second overall and sophomore Tom Sherreard claimed a tie for ninth as the Panthers men's golf team finished in fourth at the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga. on Sunday.

Sjoholm carded a final-round score of even-par 72 to move from third into second (69-70-72 ? 211, -5) in a challenging round that ended in a string of birdies. After three bogeys in his first 11 holes and a double bogey on the par-four 12th, Sjoholm recovered with poise and leapt up the leaderboard with four birdies in his final six holes.

“Joel [Sjoholm] had an amazing finish to help us capture fourth,” said Georgia State head coach Matt Clark. “He just kept hitting birdies down the stretch.”

Sjoholm, who is ranked eighth nationally by GolfStat.com, carded five birdies in his final round and 18 birdies in the three-round tournament, tying the native of Sweden for most in the event with Memphis' Robbie Greenwell, the individual champion (208, -8). In addition, he tied for third best in par-five scoring (4.58, -5) and sixth best in par-four scoring (4.00, E).

As a team, The Panthers claimed sole possession of fourth with a three-round total of 880 after a final-round 303, the team's second-lowest score this year. In a 14-team field that featured seven teams ranked in the top 32 nationally and 12 from the top 100, Georgia State defeated 14th-ranked Clemson, 20th-ranked Texas Tech and 29th-ranked Mississippi State among others.

“It was great to beat some ranked teams out there and show that we can compete at a high level,” said Clark. “We've got some young guys who are learning that they can play with the top teams and it's nice to beat those teams.”

State's fourth-place finish is the team's second-highest placing this season (3rd, Club Glove Intercollegiate) and third-straight top-10 performance.

“It was a tough day of golf out there for our guys in the middle of the round,” explained Clark. “The last two tournaments we've played well in the first 36 holes, but we haven't finished well. We're going to work on finishing by reflecting on what is happening on the course and addressing that in preparation. We need to be able to finish if we want to beat more ranked teams.”

Also finishing in the top 10 individually with Sjoholm, sophomore Tom Sherreard posted a three-birdie, final-round score of 73 (+1) to finish tied for ninth (71-72-73 ? 216, E). Sherreard, a native of England who ranks 92nd nationally, recorded a hole-in-one in his second round and eight birdies in three days to claim his second-highest finish of the year (T8th, Club Glove Intercollegiate).

Statistically, Sherreard tied for third best in par-three scoring (2.92, -1) and tied for the sixth most pars in the event, with 36.

Junior Tim Freund, a native of Greensboro, tied for 46th (73-74-81 ? 228, +12) on the par-72, 6985-yard Plantation Course at Reynolds Plantation. Completing State's lineup, freshman Alex Castro tied for 61st (71-77-83 ? 231, +15), while sophomore Maurice Jordan tied for 66th (76-78-82 ? 236, +18).

Freshman Alan Fowler claimed a tie for 68th (76-78-82 ? 236, +20) as an individual competitor.

The Panthers now return home to prepare for the U.S. Collegiate Championship in Alpharetta, Ga. on March 24, where Georgia Tech plays host at the Golf Club of Georgia.

“We're going to get back to work because we have a big-time tournament coming up,” added Clark. “We're going to get back out there and keep playing well.”

Check GeorgiaStateSports.com for updates prior to the event.




Georgia State Individual Scores
2nd ? SR. Joel Sjoholm ? 69-70-72 ? 211, -5
T9th ? SO. Tom Sherreard ? 71-72-73 ? 216, E
T46th ? JR. Tim Freund ? 73-74-81 ? 228, +12
T61st ? FR. Alex Castro ? 71-77-83 ? 231, +15
T66th ? SO. Maurice Jordan ? 76-81-77 ? 234, +18
T68th ? FR. Alan Fowler (Ind.) ? 76-78-82 ? 236, +20


Team Results: