GREENVILLE, S.C. – With each team shooting a final-round 1-under 287, Georgia State and No. 10 Virginia Tech shared the title of the 45th annual Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday afternoon. Each team finished the 54-hole tournament at 9-under par on the Furman University Golf Course.
Sophomore J.J. Grey shot a final-round 2-under 70 to finish alone in second-place at 10-under par with junior Davin White placing third at 5-under following a final-round 1-under 71.
Georgia State won its second tournament of the year after claiming the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic in the fall. The Panthers entered the week ranked No. 50 in the latest Golfweek rankings and with this result, all but secured a return to the NCAA Regional in May.
“This was a great result for us,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We would have loved to have earned the title all to ourselves, but to share it with the No. 10 team in the country is not a bad thing. J.J. and Davin played great all week and I think our guys are starting to understand how good they can be. We have one more regular season event and then it will be really time to prove it in the postseason.”
Grey and White each made four birdies in the final-round, finishing only behind Virginia Tech's Trevor Cone who is ranked No. 69 in the country. The duo finished ahead of four other golfers ranked in the top-50 in Golfweek.
Senior Tyler Gruca and junior Damon Stephenson tied for 37th. Stephenson shot his low round of the tournament, a 1-under 71 on Sunday, finishing at 7-over par.
Gruca finished the event with a 10-over 82 after opening play with rounds of 72 and 69.
Freshman Nathan Mallonee rounded out the line-up with a 3-over 75 to finish at 10-over par and tied for 54th.
Georgia State also had four players competing as individuals. Senior Ross Mclister shot a final round 3-under 69 that included six birdies to tie for 26th at 6-over.
Senior Grant Cagle shot a final-round 1-over 73 to finish tied for 42nd at 8-over par.
Senior Victor Lavin also shot 73 on Saturday and finished tied for 72nd at 13-over while senior Kevin Lee rounded out the team with a final-round 77 to finish tied for 97th.
Georgia State and Virginia Tech finished seven strokes ahead of No. 36 Kennesaw State which finished third at 2-under. Akron finished fourth at 11-over with Elon rounding out the top five at 17-over par.
Cone, Grey and White finished 1-2-3 on the individual leaderboard. Three golfers finished tied for fourth at 4-under, including Temple's Brandon Matthews, Akron's Charlie Bull and Kennesaw State's Jimmy Beck who is ranked No. 48 in the nation.
Georgia State will return to the course for its final regular season event April 5-6 for the Irish Creek Intercollegiate in Kannapolis, N.C.