ATLANTA – Georgia Southern shot the low round of the afternoon to take a 12-stroke lead over Georgia State entering Tuesday's final round of the second annual AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic hosted by the Panthers. South Carolina's Dykes Harbin finished the opening day at 4-under to hold a three-stroke lead over a pair of Georgia Southern golfers.
Georgia State's opening round 2-under, 282, gave the Panthers an early one stroke lead over the Eagles following 18 holes. The round was the squad's lowest since the Turtle Bay Invitational in Hawaii in November of 2009.
Following an opening round 1-under 70, Jonathan Grey shot 74 in the afternoon to stand at 2-over and tied for fifth at the low Panther. Grey, a true freshman from Kent, England, has won his first two collegiate events and had a streak of seven straight rounds of par or better come to an end in the afternoon. He is six off the lead entering the final round.
“I was very proud of the way we played today,” commented head coach Joe Inman. “It was great to have the lead after round one, but we knew that conditions would get a little tougher in the afternoon and they did. We are in great position heading to Tuesday and at the end of the day, that was what we wanted.”
After two-tenths of an inch of rain just before the groups teed off on Monday, sunny but windy skies and temperatures in the low 70's were prevalent the rest of the day.
Following the Eagles and Panthers was a third Georgia school, Mercer, which finished the day at 17-over. The Bears second-round 293 tied for the second lowest of the afternoon. Winthrop stands fourth at 19-over, followed by Chattanooga in fifth at 22-over.
Georgia State sophomore Damon Stephenson opened the tournament with a first round 69 and followed with a 76 in windy afternoon conditions to stand tied for tenth at 3-over. He is followed by teammate Grant Cagle tied for 16th at 5-over.
Sophomore Davin White and junior Tyler Gruca finished the first day at 6-over and tied for 22nd. Gruca shot the Panthers low of the afternoon, a 2-over 73.
Junior Ross Mclister made his season debut as an individual for the Panthers and stands tied for 42nd at 10-over par, while Victor Lavin, also making his debut, finished tied for 57th at 13-over. Junior Kevin Lee rounded out the Panthers line-up at 16-over par and tied for 74th.
The field includes three top 50 squads in the latest Golfweek rankings, along with eight teams ranked in the top 100. Among those teams, nine players are ranked in the top 100, including Georgia State's own freshman Jonathan Grey, ranked No. 11 in the latest polls.
Teams will return to the course on Tuesday for the final 18 holes with tee times beginning off the first and tenth holes at 8 a.m. Live scoring can be found at GolfStat.com.
Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, lent its name to the tournament. AutoTrader.com is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website. Together with their leadership, Georgia State will welcome 15 additional teams and a total of 88 players to Berkeley Hills beginning Sunday.
AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers.
The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and display advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com continues to grow key business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic. Today, AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends.
Berkeley Hills Country Club is a traditional private country club that is owned by the members. Like other long-standing clubs, the course has mature tree-lined fairways and challenging greens. The course was designed by Arthur Davis, Ron Kirby & Gary Player. It has been carefully updated over the years only in ways that improve the playability and challenge of the course. The original character of the course remains unchanged.
Over the past several years, Berkeley Hills has gained a reputation for having some of the fastest and best greens in the state. The greens are surfaced with Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda grass that ushered in the new modern grasses for southern golf greens in 1995.
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