What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State pulled off a remarkable comeback on Monday to earn the No. 4-seed and advance to match play at the Sun Belt Conference Men's Golf Championship.
* Senior Nathan Mallonee shot a final round 71 to finish at 2-over par and tied for sixth, a career-best finish in the conference tournament.
* Georgia State will now play No. 1-seed Troy on Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET in the semifinals of the match play championship.
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla.– With its backs up against the wall with nine holes to play in the Sun Belt Championship, the Georgia State men's golf team pulled off a remarkable turnaround to finish in a tie for third and advance to the match play portion of the tournament on Tuesday.
With the top four teams advancing to Tuesday, Georgia State sat in eighth place with just nine holes remaining, but behind eight birdies and strong play from senior Nathan Mallonee, the Panthers earned the No. 4-seed and will play No. 1-seed Troy on Tuesday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET off Hole No. 1.
The winner of the match will face the winner of No. 2-seed Georgia Southern and No. 3-seed Arkansas State on Tuesday afternoon with an automatic bid to NCAA Regional play at stake.
Mallonee turned at 2-over par, but birdied three of his first six holes on the back nine to finish the day with an even par 71. He finished the championship tied for sixth at 2-over par, a career-best finish in the conference championship.
“I have to give our guys all the credit,” head coach Joe Inman said. “After a nice first round, our next 27 holes were pretty rough, however, they stepped up down the stretch and made some clutch putts when we had to. Tuesday is an all new tournament and what we have done the last two days doesn't matter. We have an equal chance as the other three teams to win a championship.”
After an opening round 6-under 278, Georgia State finished its second round on Monday morning shooting 301. The Panthers shot a final round 293 to finish at 20-over par for the championship.
Sophomore Nick Budd added a final round 2-over 73 to finish the championship at 3-over par and tied for 10th. Junior Alex Herrmann added a 3-over 74 on Monday afternoon to tie for 16th at 5-over par.
Sophomore Nathan Williams made three birdies down the stretch to shoot a final round 4-over 75 and tied for 35th at 10-over par for the 54-hole event. Defending champion Max Herrmann finished 59th at 27-over par following a final round 79.
A year after finishing runner-up to Georgia State in stroke play, Troy earned the No. 1-seed by finish at 3-over par following a final round 289. Georgia Southern was second at 12-over par, with Georgia State and Arkansas State tying for third at 20-over par. Texas State rounded out the top five at 21-over par, with South Alabama (22-over), Coastal Carolina (23-over) and Little Rock (24-over) close behind.
Georgia Southern's Steven Fisk won a four-man individual playoff for low medalist honors at 3-under par. Troy's Clay Vannoy, Georgia Southern's Jake Storey and Coastal Carolina's Luis Ruiz tied for second at 3-under par after falling in the playoff. Troy's Jared Bettcher rounded out the top five at 2-under par.
With a conference championship win, Georgia State will automatically earn a spot into NCAA Regional play which will be played May 15-17 at six national sites. Without a win, the Panthers will have to wait to see if they are selected as an at-large team. The NCAA championship is scheduled for May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
