Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. - The Georgia State men's golf team opened the spring season Monday in 11th place following two rounds of the SeaBest Seafood Invitational. The Panthers are making their third straight appearance on the PLAYERS Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.
Following an opening round 319, the Panthers rebounded in the afternoon to shoot 307 and stand at 50-over par with 18 holes to play Tuesday. GSU is within just 17 strokes of the top four.
Freshman Davin White led the Panthers on day one and stands tied for 31st following rounds of 76 and 78. White made a pair of birdies in each round.
Freshman Damon Stephenson followed an opening round 79 with an afternoon 76. Playing in just his third collegiate tournament, Stephenson is tied for 33rd after one day.
Redshirt-sophomore Sam Jandel improved the most among the five Panthers in the line-up in the afternoon. Jandel opened with an 84 before shooting 74 in the afternoon. Both rounds included three birdies as he stands tied for 43rd.
"I was disappointed with the way we played in the morning, but I was glad to see us bounce back in the afternoon," commented head coach Joe Inman. "If we can improve the same way we did from round one to round two tomorrow, I think we can make up a lot of ground on the field."
Sophomore Tyler Gruca, the top ranked golfer in the CAA, shot rounds of 80 and 79 on day one to stand in a tie for 46th.
Sophomore Grant Cagle rounded out the Panthers' line-up in 61st following rounds of 85 and 81.
Sophomore Victor Lavin, competing as an individual, stands tied for 59th after rounds of 83 and 82.
No. 34 Florida leads the 13-team field and stands 11-over with 18 holes to play. No. 36 Liberty is in second at 22-over, followed by No. 7 UNF in third, 29-over par. Coastal Carolina and Old Dominion are tied for fourth at 33-over entering Tuesday's final round.
Florida's TJ Vogel, ranked 14th in the country, leads the event at 2-under par following a second round 69. Florida Gulf Coast's Brandon Pena stands in second at 1-under, followed by East Carolina's Harold Varner in third at even par. Liberty's Robert Karlsson is alone in fourth at 1-over following by a trio of golfers tied for fifth at 2-over par.
The Panthers final round will begin at 9:15 a.m. off the tenth tee on Tuesday morning. Live scoring for the tournament will be available through GolfStat.com.
Following this week's tournament, the Panthers will return to the course Feb. 20 and 21 at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. The 54-hole tournament is hosted by Francis Marion.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
