What you need to know:
* Georgia State shot the fourth-lowest round of the day, a 3-under 285, to move up four spots and into a tie for fourth-place after two rounds of the Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner.
* Junior J.J. Grey stands tied for fourth and just one stroke off the lead at 5-under following a second round 69.
* Georgia State will close out the event on Tuesday morning as tee times begin at 8:45 a.m. ET.
OPELIKA, Ala. – Georgia State moved from the middle of the pack to near the top of the leaderboard Monday at the Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner thanks to three players breaking par and the squad shooting a 3-under 285.
Junior J.J. Grey stands just one stroke off the individual lead following a second round 3-under 69. Grey is tied for fourth at 5-under par after an opening round 70. He made four birdies on Monday.
“Really proud of the way we played today,” head coach Joe Inman said. “We still didn't play a perfect round, but we got a lot closer to it and put ourselves in position for a great finish this week. We basically eliminated all the big numbers and kept making birdies which is going to be what leads us to success this spring.”
Senior Davin White added a second round 1-under 71 and is 2-over and tied for 23rd entering the final round. White had a five-hole stretch on the front-nine where he made three-straight birdies and an eagle, going out in 33.
Sophomore Nathan Mallonee added a 2-under 70 and is tied for 29th at 4-over. He made three opening nine birdies and nine-straight pars on the back nine.
Freshman Alexander Herrmann shot a second-straight 5-over 77 and is tied for 60th at 10-over par, while senior Damon Stephenson fired a 3-over 75 and is tied for 71st at 12-over. His round included an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole.
Max Herrmann, competing as an individual, shot a 1-over 73 and is tied for 16th at even par following a 1-under round on Sunday.
No. 8 Auburn shot a tournament low 15-under 273 to open a 10-stroke lead on the rest of the field. The Tigers are 13-under thru 36 holes to lead second-place Troy which stands at 3-under. South Alabama is third at 8-over, followed by Georgia State and UNC Greensboro tied for fourth at 9-over.
UNC Greensboro's Taylor Coalson, Santa Clara's Hayden Shieh and Auburn's Michael Johnson are tied for the individual lead at 6-under. Grey, along with Troy's Jake Tucker are tied for fourth at 5-under.
Live scoring of the final round can be found at GolfStat.com. The tournament will continue on Tuesday morning with tee times beginning at 8:45 a.m. ET off holes No. 1 and 10.
Following the event, Georgia State will return to the course March 16 for the Southern Intercollegiate in Athens, Ga., hosted by Georgia and GRU-Augusta.
