Gruca Leads Men's Golf at Schenkel Invitational

Men's Golf Mike Holmes/Sports Communications

Gruca Leads Men's Golf at Schenkel Invitational

STATESBORO, Ga. – Senior Tyler Gruca shot an even par 72 to lead Georgia State to a first-round 13-over 301 at the Schenkel Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern at Forest Heights Country Club on Friday. The Panthers stand in 14th-place in a field that includes four teams in the top 15 and 13 on the top 100 in the country.

Gruca made three birdies and three bogeys on the opening day of the three day event.

Only 11 strokes separate third and 14th place as just two teams broke par on Friday.

“We got off to a rough start on the back nine,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We calmed down, but those early mistakes were too much to overcome. The good thing is that we did settle down and with how close all of the teams are, we have plenty of time to rebound and move back up the leaderboard.”

Juniors Damon Stephenson and Davin White are tied for 57th following rounds of 76. White was a prime example of the tough start. He triple bogeyed his first hole and double bogeyed his third hole but made four birdies over a stretch of five holes at the turn. He also eagled the par-5 seventh hole, his 16th hole of the day.

Sophomore J.J. Grey shot an opening round 5-over 77 and stands in a tie for 68th.

Freshman Nathan Mallonee shot an opening round 8-over 80 and is tied for 80th with 36 holes to play.

Senior Grant Cagle, competing as an individual, shot an opening round 4-over 76 that included two birdies on his final three holes and is tied for 57th.

No. 14 UAB leads the field following an opening round 3-under 285. The Blazers lead host Georgia Southern which shot 2-under on Friday. Four teams are tied for third at 2-over, including No. 10 Virginia, No. 15 Texas, College of Charleston and Ole Miss.

North Florida's Taylor Hancock and Kentucky's David Snyder are tied for the lead following rounds of 68. There is a five-way tie for third at 3-under par. The group includes UCF's Greg Eason, Georgia Southern's Will Evans, Forrest Gamble from Ole Miss, UAB's Wilson McDonald and Duke's Motin Yeung.

The prestigious event has been won by the likes of Bubba Watson, Scott Verplank, Bob Tway, Hal Sutton, Andy Bean and Curtis Strange. Six U.S. Opens, four PGA Championships, two British Opens and one Masters title are among the major wins by individuals who have posted a top-10 finish at the Schenkel Invitational during their collegiate careers.

Live scoring of the final two rounds can be found at GolfStat.com.

Following this week's action, Georgia State will return to the course March 28-30 for the Furman Intercollegiate in Greenville, S.C.

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Gruca

Tyler Gruca

6' 4"
Senior
Nathan Mallonee

Nathan Mallonee

6' 3"
Freshman
Damon Stephenson

Damon Stephenson

5' 11"
Junior
Davin White

Davin White

5' 8"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Tyler Gruca

Tyler Gruca

6' 4"
Senior
Nathan Mallonee

Nathan Mallonee

6' 3"
Freshman
Damon Stephenson

Damon Stephenson

5' 11"
Junior
Davin White

Davin White

5' 8"
Junior