Wilcox Wins Again as Clayton State Claims Matlock Invitational

LAKELAND, Fla – For the second straight tournament, Clayton State’s Will Wilcox came away with the individual title, but this time he brought the rest of the team along as the Lakers won the Matlock Invitational on Tuesday. Clayton State finished six shots ahead of second-place Columbus State while GCSU was fourth in the 15-team field.

The Lakers shot a final round of 294 on Tuesday and finished with a 6-under-par 858 for the three rounds. Clayton State shattered the team record for a 54-hole tournament by 13 strokes, and it is the fourth team tournament championship under third-year head coach Barry Harwell.

Individually for the Lakers, two-time Division II All-American Will Wilcox put the finishing touches on low-medalist honors with a 2-under 70 for the final round. He broke his own Clayton State record for a 54-hole tournament with an 11-under 205, finishing three strokes ahead of Rollins’ Colin Dolph and six strokes in front of Valdosta State’s Brent Witcher and Columbus State’s Michael Hicks.

It was the fifth individual championship for Wilcox in his distinguished Clayton State career.

In addition to Wilcox, junior Neil Thomas finished tied for 14th with a 1-over 217 (72-70-75), while freshman Jordan Tyler Massey finished tied for 23rd with a 4-over 220 (75-71-74) and junior Wade Binfield finished tied for 28th with a 6-over 222 (78-69-75).

Columbus State vaulted from eighth to second on the final day of the tournament, shooting a seven-under 281 as a team.

CSU's Michael Hicks continued his stellar play with a closing round 71 to finish tied for third at 5-under 211 (67-73-71). Andrew Georgiou broke par with a 1-under 71 to finish in seventh place at 2-under 214 (73-70-71). Steven Paine regrouped and posted his best round of the spring with a 71 and finished tied for 26th at 221 (74-76-71). JP van der Walt tied for the low round of the day with a 4-under 68 and finished tied for 33rd at 223 (77-78-68). Freshman Michael Lee rounded out the scoring for the Cougars with a final round 79 and finished tied for 56th at 229 (73-77-79).

Led by two golfers under par No. 6 Georgia College & State University jumped four spots to finish fourth. The Bobcats shaved three strokes off in each round (293-290-287=870) owning the second-best final round score.

Junior Niclas Johansson (Skanor, Sweden) saved his best for last, carding a 69 today finishing at a one-under 215 for the three rounds, finishing eighth. Sophomore Matthew Yonz (Waycross, Ga.) was one stroke behind, (74-72-70=216) in 10th.

Sophomore Billy Shida (Berkeley Lake, Ga.) also had a top-20 finish, taking 20th (72-74-73=219). Junior Francisco Bide (Buenos Aires, Argentina/El Diamante (Calif.)) moved to 39th place (73-76-75=224) and sophomore Joe Young (Cochran, Ga.) struggled to a final round 81 (74-73-81=228) finishing 55th.

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