Duluth, Ga. - Despite shooting the lowest round of the day, Georgia State finished second to Georgia Southern at the second annual AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic hosted by the Panthers on Tuesday afternoon at Berkeley Hills Country Club. South Carolina's Dykes Harbin held on to earn low medalist honors ahead of a trio of golfers.
Georgia Southern finished the three-round event at 7-over, seven strokes ahead of the Panthers. Georgia State shot a final round 1-over 285 to finish 14-over and well ahead of third place Mercer at 22-over. No. 49 Chattanooga finished fourth at 29-over, followed by Winthrop in fifth at 33-over. No. 7 Georgia place sixth.
Georgia State's second place finish was its best of the fall as four Panthers finished in the top 11.
"I would like to take the opportunity to thank AutoTrader.com, Berkeley Hills Country Club and all of our sponsors and volunteers who helped us put on a first-class event," commented head coach Joe Inman after the tournament. "We were able to grow this tournament significantly from year one to year two and I look forward to doing the same next year.
"Congratulations to Georgia Southern and Coach Larry Mays, as well as Dykes Harbin of South Carolina on playing excellent golf on a very tough golf course.
Harbin shot a final round 1-over 72 to secure the victory over Chattanooga's Steven Fox, Winthrop's Kamito Hirai and Georgia Southern's Scott Wolfes. Harbin finished the event at 3-under for a two-stroke victory. Fox, the reigning U.S. Amateur champ who will play in the Masters next April, shot a final round 68, tied for the low round of the day.
Georgia State sophomore Damon Stephenson finished alone in fifth following a final round 68 that included five birdies. He opened the tournament on Monday morning with a 69.
No. 8 Jonathan Grey, along with Panther teammates Grant Cagle and Davin White finished tied for 11th. Cagle's final round 72 gave him a career low finish, while White finished the event with an even par 71 as the group finished 6-over for the 54-hole event. Grey shot a final round 75 and has finished in the top 11 in all three tournaments this fall, including a pair of victories.
Tyler Gruca rounded out the line-up finishing tied for 23rd at 9-over following a final round 74.
"Our team played great golf the last two days. We talked about defending our home course and although we did not come away with the win, we had a great result and can use that to push us heading into the final event of the fall in a few weeks.
Three Panthers also took the course as individuals with Ross Mclister finishing tied for 27th in his season debut. The junior shot a final round 72 to finish at 11-over par.
Victor Lavin tied for 54th at 17-over, while junior Kevin Lee finished the event 25-over.
The field included 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.
Georgia State will return to the course at the end of the month for the UNCG Bridgestone Classic in Greensboro, N.C., Oct. 27-28.
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. 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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