What you need to know:
* Georgia State placed three golfers among the top 20 at The Invitational on The Ocean Course on Saturday.
* The Panthers finished 10th in the 54-hole event shooting 42-over. In tough final round conditions, only four teams broke 300 as Georgia State shot 304.
* Georgia State will return to action Sept. 26-27 at the Sun Belt Preview at The Raven in Miramar Beach, Fla.
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Georgia State finished with three men's golfers in the top 20 and placed 10th as a team at The Invitational at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, S.C., on Saturday. In windy final round conditions in which only four teams broke 300, the Panthers shot a final round 304 in the season opening event.
Senior J.J. Grey and junior Nathan Mallonee led the Panthers in the final round, each shooting a 2-over 73. For the tournament, Mallonee led the Panthers with a tie for 11th at 6-over par, while Grey finished tied for 19th at 8-over par, the second-straight year finishing among the top-20 in the event.
Sophomore Alexander Herrmann, competing as an individual, also tied for 11th at 6-over par following a final round 80.
Freshmen Nick Budd and James Kyles, both making their collegiate debuts this week, each shot final round 78's. Budd finished tied for 36th at 13-over, while Kyles placed tied for 51st.
Freshman Nathan Williams, also making his collegiate debut shot a final round 84 to finish tied for 76th at 29-over. Redshirt-freshman Sean Murphy rounded out the line-up shooting 90 on Saturday to finish tied for 79th at 34-over.
Georgia Southern overcame a five-stroke deficit after 36 holes to shoot a final round 2-over 290 and earn a four-stroke win over host College of Charleston which finished at 13-over. Kentucky and UAB tied for third at 24-over, followed by NC State in fifth at 26-over. The Panthers finished at 42-over.
College of Charleston's William Rainey finished at 5-under to earn a one-stroke win following a final round 71. Georgia Southern's Cody O'Toole finished second at 4-under, followed by first-day leader Jared O'Kelley in third at 3-under. The trio were the only three golfers in the 81-player field to break par. Kentucky's Tyler McDaniel and Georgia Southern's Steven Fisk tied for fourth at 2-over.
The Ocean Course hosted the 2012 PGA Championship as well as the 1991 Ryder Cup, one of the most remembered events in golf history that became known as the “War on the Shore.” The course is playing to a par-72, 7,115-yard layout for the 12-team field.
Georgia State will return to action at the Sun Belt Conference Preview Sept. 26-27 at The Raven Golf Club in Miramar Beach, Fla.
