SOMIS, Calif. – Led by junior Damon Stephenson who stands in a tie for sixth, the Georgia State men's golf team shot rounds of 303 and 302 on day one of the Jones Sports Invitational at Saticoy Country Club to stand sixth with one-round to play.
Stephenson, looking for his fourth-straight top-16 finish, is just four strokes off the individual lead entering the final round Tuesday.
Georgia State returned to the event hosted by Pepperdine for the first time it has been contested since 2007. That year, the Panthers finished third with Joel Sjoholm earning low medalist honors.
“We did some really nice things today, but also had a couple of mistakes that led to some high numbers,” head coach Joe Inman said. “It is a tough course with a very good field of teams from the west coast. Even with the mistakes, we have put ourselves in position to go after a top-four finish on Tuesday which I think would be a good result at this tournament.”
Stephenson opened play with a 1-under 71 that included five birdies in the morning. In the afternoon, he added three more birdies en route to a 4-over 76. He stands at 3-over entering the final round.
Sophomore J.J. Grey made four birdies during the 36-hole day to shoot rounds of 75 and 76 and stand in a tie for 21st entering the final round. He is coming off a third-place finish last week in Mobile, Ala.
Senior Tyler Gruca shot rounds of 76 and 77 to stand in a tie for 28th. Gruca, who has not missed a tournament in his collegiate career, made four birdies on Monday.
Junior Davin White and freshman Nathan Mallonee are tied for 42nd. Each struggled in the morning, but rebounded in the afternoon.
White shot rounds of 83 and 74 on Monday. In the morning, he made three birdies, but his round was derailed by three double bogeys. In the afternoon, White made five birdies to improve by nine strokes.
Mallonee shot 81-76, finishing the day with a pair of birdies in the second-round.
Senior Grant Cagle, competing as an individual, shot rounds of 82 and 81 to stand in a tie for 59th entering the final round.
No. 23 South California leads the field by four-strokes at 9-over after rounds of 292 and 293. No. 50 San Diego State is second at 13-over, followed by San Diego at 16-over. No. 30 BYU and No. 48 CSU Fullerton are tied for fourth at 24-over, just five strokes ahead of the Panthers.
San Diego State's Riccardo Michelini and Southern California's Anthony Paolucci, ranked No. 29 in the country, are tied for first at 1-under par. Each shot rounds of 70 and 73 on Monday. San Diego State's Xander Schauffele, ranked No. 73 in the country, and Pepperdine's Frederick Wedel are tied for third at 1-over. Rounding out the top-five is BYU's Jordan Rodgers at 2-over.
Live scoring can be found throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com.
Following this week's action, Georgia State will return to the course March 10-11 at the Cleveland Golf/Palmetto Intercollegiate in Aiken, S.C.