Clayton State's Wilcox Wins AFLAC/Cougar Invitational; USC Aiken 3rd

MIDLAND, GA -- Clayton State’s Will Wilcox fired a nine-under-par 207, including a school-record 65 in the second round, to win the AFLAC/Cougar Invitational on Tuesday hosted by Columbus State. Seven Peach Belt Conference schools competed in the event, with USC Aiken the high conference finisher in third place.

Wilcox, a junior from Pell City, Ala., posted rounds of 71, 65 and 71 for the tournament. He tied the Clayton State 18-hole mark in terms of par with his 7-under 65 in the second round, matching the same mark held by Adam Short at the 1999 NCAA Division II National Championships. That was also the lowest round of the tournament.

Wilcox also broke the Lakers’ 36-hole mark with an 8-under par performance in the first two rounds, besting the 5-under performance of 5-under par by Dave Kelly at the Rendleman Classic in 1998, and shattered the Clayton State 54-hole record previously held by Michael Farley at the 1998 NCAA Division II South Regional by a whopping 12 strokes.

For the tournament, Wilcox recorded 14 birdies, compared to only five bogeys. That included seven birdies and no bogeys in the second round to take the lead. He finished three strokes ahead of Valdosta State’s Cole Willis and five strokes ahead of USC-Aiken’s Jeff Goff and Armstrong Atlantic’s Chris Wolfe.

As for USC Aiken, all five Pacers produced superb rounds on Tuesday keyed by Jeff Goff’s 67 as fourth-ranked USC Aiken posted a seven-under-par 281, the best round of the tournament, to finish in third. The Pacers (+9) were just one stroke back of fifth-ranked West Florida (+8) and four behind tournament champion Nova Southeastern (+5).

Goff turned in a near flawless round of five-under-par 67 to tie for third in the individual standings. The senior from Jackson, S.C. birdied two, five, and eight to make the turn at three-under-par. Two more birdies on 11 and 13 moved the 2006 South Carolina State Amateur Champion to five-under-par. Goff’s lone blemish on the day was a bogey on the 208-yard, par three 14th. A birdie on 18, however, finished off the 67, one shy of Goff’s collegiate-best round of 66 carded last March on his way to medalist honors at the Richard Rendleman Invitational.

Armstrong Atlantic State’s Chris Wolfe finished tied for third with Goff after firing a 66 in the final round. AASU turned in the second-best round of the day with a team 290. Columbus State’s Andrew Georgiou finished tied for seventh after shooting 68 in the second round.

Valdosta State (+12) led by three strokes heading into the final round, but struggled to a team total of 300, dropping back to fourth place. Top-ranked Barry (+22) was a distance fifth, 10 shots back of the Blazers. Armstrong Atlantic State (+23), Clayton State (+24), and Georgia College & State (+25) represented the Peach Belt Conference in a tightly bunched six through eight grouping. The host Cougars finished 13th after an 18-over-par day of 306.

To see complete tournament results, click here.