ATLANTA – Georgia State freshman Jonathan Grey tied a career-low
with a final round 67 to finish at 8-under par and earn a five-stroke victory
at the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular on Sunday at the Mission Inn Resort in
Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Grey recorded four birdies and a pair of eagles to record his
third win of the season, fourth top 10 and eighth finish inside the top 20 in
eight tournaments this year. The freshman, who has been ranked in the top 50 in
the country most of the season, is making a push for Palmer Cup and Freshman
All-America honors.
Despite
shooting the second lowest round of the day, a 2-over 290, Georgia State
dropped one spot in the final team standings to finish fourth in the 18-team
field. The Panthers 11-over relation to par score is Georgia State's lowest of
the year.
“I
am really proud of the way our guys played today,” commented head coach Joe
Inman. “They did everything they could to try and move up the leaderboard.
Still, a fourth place finish in a tournament with this many teams is a good
result and we will continue to make our push to the postseason.
“Jonathan
continued to impress me and is playing some of his best golf of the year. I am
so happy that he was able to earn another victory as he shows that he is one of
the best freshmen in the country. He is a pleasure to coach and I look forward
to him continuing to get better.”
Junior
Tyler Gruca shot a final round 2-over 74 to finish tied for 13th at
4-over. After struggling in the fall, Gruca recorded his second straight top 25
finish of the spring and third of the year.
Sophomore
Davin White also shot a final round 74 to finish tied for 23rd. His
round included three birdies to finish at 7-over as he picked up his fifth top
25 in seven tournaments this season.
Junior
Grant Cagle finished with a final round 75 to place tied for 35th at 10-over.
Junior
Ross Mclister rounded out the Panthers line-up with a final round 84 as he
finished tied for 96th at 26-over.
Sophomore
Damon Stephenson, competing as an individual, shot his second straight 72 to
finish tied for 16th. Stephenson made two birdies and an eagle in
his final round to finish at 6-over par and recorded his second top 25 this
season.
Also
competing as an individual was junior Kevin Lee who finished with his best
round of the event, a 1-over 73 to finish tied for 50th at 14-over
par. Lee had three front nine birdies en route to going out in 34.
Victor
Lavin also made the trip to Florida to compete as an individual, shooting a
final round 76 to finish at 20-over and tied for 74th.
Indiana
came from behind to earn a two-stroke victory over Virginia Tech and Purdue
which tied for second. The Hoosiers shot a final round 3-over 291 to finish at 5-over
for the tournament. The Hokies shot the low round of the tournament, a final
round 4-under 284, to finish second with the Boilermakers at 7-over. Following
the Panthers, Old Dominion rounded out the top five at 23-over.
Grey ran away with the individual victory, but things were much
closer in the group after him. Indiana's Brant Peaper finished second at
3-under following a final round 69. Virginia Tech's Scott Vincent was alone in
third at 2-under, followed by Enzo Perez in fourth at 1-under. Hartford's Evan
Russell and Indiana's Michael M'Gee tied for fifth at even par.
Georgia State will conclude its stretch of three-tournaments in 13
days at the Furman Intercollegiate, March 22-24 in Greenville, S.C.
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