MOBILE, Ala. – The Georgia State men's golf team opened the spring season with two impressive rounds at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate on Monday and stand tied for second entering the final-round on Tuesday. The Panthers are at 1-over par, tied with No. 36 Kentucky and just five-strokes behind No. 27 Auburn entering the final round of play.
Georgia State led after the first round, shooting a 1-under 287 in the morning. The Panthers came back in the afternoon with a 2-over 290 and have three players in the top-16.
Sophomore J.J. Grey led the way for Georgia State and is tied for third entering the final round. Grey opened play with a 4-under 68 in the morning and then shot a 2-over 74 in the afternoon to stand 2-under after 36 holes, just two strokes off the lead. Grey birdied his final four holes in the morning to take the lead after the first round.
“I am really proud of the way our team came out and played,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We have not had too many opportunities to practice in the last few weeks because of the weather, but the guys stuck with our game plan and executed it to perfection.
“We will be playing in the final group on Tuesday and I think have an excellent chance to win. This is a great field with a lot of NCAA Regional-bound teams, so it will be great if we can finish strong and make a statement heading into the spring.”
Junior Damon Stephenson fired rounds of 71 and 72 to stand at 1-under par and tied for seventh after 36 holes. The Aussie made an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole in the opening around and four birdies in the second.
Junior Davin White rebounded from a morning round 74 to shoot even par in the second round to stand at 2-over par and in a tie for 16th place. After making just one birdie in the morning, White made four in the afternoon, including two-straight on the 15th and 16th holes.
Senior Tyler Gruca shot back-to-back rounds of 74 to stand at 4-over and tied for 28th entering the final round. Gruca made five birdies over the course of 36 holes on Monday.
Freshman Nathan Mallonee rounded out the Panthers line-up and is tied for 43rd at 6-over par. Following an opening round 78, Mallonee rebounded with an even par 72 in the afternoon, highlighted by four birdies.
No. 27 Auburn finished the first day at 4-under par, following a second-round 6-under 282, the low round of the tournament. Georgia State and Kentucky are tied for second at 1-over, followed by Middle Tennessee in fourth at 4-over. No. 41 Memphis and Chattanooga are tied for fifth at 6-over. The field also includes No. 28 Wake Forest (8th) and Sun Belt foe South Alabama (9th) in the 15-team field.
Auburn's Niclas Carlsson and Middle Tennessee's Payne Denman share the lead at 4-under. Grey is tied for third at 2-under in a group that includes Auburn's Will Long, Kentucky's David Snyder and Wake Forest's Clancy Waugh.
Live scoring of the final round on Tuesday can be found Golfstat.com.
Georgia State also sent four individuals to Mobile, playing in a separate tournament to open the spring.
Senior Ross Mclister shot rounds of 76 and 77 to stand at 11-over and tied for 16th of 36 individuals competing on the second of two courses at Magnolia Grove Golf Club.
Senior Victor Lavin shot rounds of 79 and 76 and is tied for 21st entering the final-round on Tuesday.
Senior Kevin Lee is 14-over following rounds of 81 and 75 and is tied for 24th, with senior Grant Cagle standing in a tie for 28th following rounds of 83 and 75.
Following this week's action, Georgia State will return to the course Feb. 24-25 at the Jones Sports Invitational hosted by Pepperdine in Somis, Calif.