The 47th ranked Georgia State men's golf team finished the SunTrust Gator Invitational in 10th of 14 after recording rounds of 286-288-284--858 (+18) at the par 70, 6,701 yard Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.
Georgia State's final round was led by freshman Allen John's 67 (-3) which ties the second best round of the year for the Panthers. John's 65 in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate is the lowest of the season.
John finished the tournament as the low Panther at 72-73-67--212 (+2) in 17th place.
The first round belonged to sophomore Tobias Rosendahl whose round of 69 (-1) was good for 12th place. Rosendahl responded by carding a 74 in the second round to put him at +3 and in 30th place. The third round saw Rosendahl post a 72 completing his tournament of 69-74-72--215 (+5) and granting him a 28th place finish.
Junior Tom Sherreard finished the tournament with a 75 to go 72-69-75--216 (+6) and finish in 35th. Sherreard charged up the leaderboard during the Saturday afternoon round on the back of a 69 (-1), climbing as high as 14th.
Sophomore Alan Fowler's first round of 73 (+3) placed him 48th. In the second round, Fowler saw a slight move up the leaderboard to 42nd by shooting a 72 and moving to +5 on the day. Fowler capped his tournament on Sunday with a 45th place finish and a 72 for a 73-72-72--217 (+7).
Sophomore Alex Castro struggled on day one with rounds of 77 and 83 for a 74th place position at +20. Castro found a way to bounce back on Sunday with a 73 to finish at +23 in 74th with rounds of 77-83-73--233.
Host Florida ran away with the team competition by shooting 269-276-279--824 (-16). Florida's closest competitor was Mississippi who finished the tournament with 274-281-287--842 (+2). Florida has now won the SunTrust Gator Invitational six times in a row.
Following Mississippi were UCF (+6), Florida State (+7), Duke (+8), LSU (+10), Coastal Carolina (+10), Chattanooga (+11), and North Florida (+16), two shots in front of Georgia State.
Georgia State finished in front of Mississippi State (+26), Wake Forest (+27), Georgia Southern (+32), and UAB (+39).
In the individual competition, Florida's Billy Horschel and Toby Ragland battled through the first day, exchanging the lead between teammates, before UCF's Simon Ward took advantage on Sunday with a 67 to move to -5 and gain a share of the lead. Ragland shot a 72 (+2) to give up a two shot lead on Horschel, who shot 70 (E), and a five shot lead on Ward.
In the three man playoff, Toby Ragland prevailed on the seventh playoff hole to win the individual competition at the SunTrust Gator Invitational. Simon Ward was eliminated on the third playoff hole before Ragland ultimately defeated his teammate Billy Horschel.
Full scores from the SunTrust Gator Invitational can be found at www.GolfStat.com.
The Panthers now look ahead, next week, to the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational beginning on February 22nd at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
