ATLANTA – Led by freshman Jonathan Grey's 3-under two-round
performance, the Georgia State men's golf team stands tied for third entering
Sunday's final round of the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular at the Mission Inn
Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. Grey stands tied for the lead with Indiana's
Michael M'Gee.
Grey, who opened play with rounds of 70 and 71 on Saturday, is
looking for the third win of his freshman season. In seven collegiate
tournaments, he has finished no worse than 19th as he makes a push
for Palmer Cup and Freshman All-America honors.
Grey
made 10 birdies on the day, including a stretch of three straight during the second
round.
The Panthers shot a 3-over, 291 in the morning, before following
with a 6-over, 294 in the afternoon and stand just eight strokes back of
tournament leader Purdue.
“Our goal was to come down to Florida and win this tournament,”
commented head coach Joe Inman. “We might not be leading going into the final
round, but we are within striking distance and playing with the leaders. Eight
strokes in college golf can change hands in a matter of one or two holes.
“Jonathan played extremely well today. He is showing why he is
deserving of playing on the Palmer Cup this summer and I think has a really
good chance at earning Freshman All-America honors if he continues at this
pace.”
Following rounds of 71 and 75, junior Tyler Gruca stands tied for
16th. During his 1-under par morning round, Gruca made four birdies
as he looks for his second straight top 25 finish and third of the year.
After a morning round even par 72, sophomore Davin White shot an
afternoon 77 and stands tied for 24th with 18 holes to play. Both rounds featured three birdies, but White
stumbled with a 10 on the par 5 12th hole in the afternoon which
derailed another good round.
Junior Grant Cagle shot a morning 78 and followed with an
afternoon 73 that included five birdies to stand tied for 38th.
Junior Ross Mclister rounded out the Panthers line-up, shooting a
morning round 83 before rebounding in the afternoon with a 75. Mclister stands
tied for 78th.
Sophomore Damon Stephenson, competing as an individual, opened the
day with a 78 but finished strong with an afternoon 72 to stand tied for 31st.
His afternoon featured five birdies and a front nine 33.
Kevin Lee, also competing as an individual, shot rounds of 77 and
78 to stand tied for 60th. The junior made six birdies over the two
rounds.
Junior Victor Lavin also competed as an individual, shooting
rounds of 81 and 79 on Saturday. He stands tied for 88th in the
116-player field with 18 holes to play.
Purdue finished the day at 1-over following rounds of 288 and 289
to hold a one-stroke lead over Indiana, which tied for Florida Atlantic for the
lowest round of the day, a 2-under 286 in the second round. The Owls stands at
9-over par, tied with Georgia State. Virginia Tech rounds out the top five at
11-over par.
Following M'Gee and Grey at the top of the leaderboard, Purdue's
Enzo Perez and Virginia Tech's Trevor Cone stand tied for third at 2-under.
Appalachian State's Casey Komline rounds out the top five at 1-under par.
Following the event, Georgia State will conclude the
three-tournament stretch at the Furman Intercollegiate, March 22-24 in
Greenville, S.C.
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