May 4, 2011

DeLAND, FLA – The Columbus State Cougars leapt over three teams to finish in fifth place and earn a spot in the national championship tournament as the NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional concluded play on Wednesday at the Victoria Hills Golf Club.  The Cougars fired a final round 295 to finish fifth, earning the last of the five spots for teams to advance to the finals.  Georgia College finished three strokes back in a tie for sixth while Flagler was eighth, USC Aiken tied for 12th, UNC Pembroke 14th and Armstrong Atlantic State 16th.  
Lander’s Max Fischer, playing as an individual, finished in a tie for 25th after shooting 69 and  73 in the second and third rounds.

The Cougars were consistent in the three-round event shooting rounds of 294, 296 and 295.

 Leading the way for CSU in the final round was Jeremy Britt and Rourke Van der Spuy who both fired one-over 73’s.  Rounding out the team scoring right behind them was Stephen Woodill (+2) and Justin Grice (+3) while Stephen Swanepoel posted a six-over 78 on his final card.

For the event, all five golfers placed in the top 50 (108 total golfers) paced by Britt who carded a four-over 220 tying him for 16th.  Van der Spuy was a stroke behind him and tied for 25th with a 221 (+5).  Grice and Woodill both posted 224’s (+8) placing them in a tie for 40th while Swanepoel tied for 47th with a nine-over 225.

Georgia College shot rounds of 297, 294 and 297 over the three days, finishing at plus-24 and tied with Florida Tech in sixth.

Senior Billy Shida (Berkeley Lakes, Ga.) led the Bobcats for the final time, taking seventh at three-over par on the par-72, 7,072-yard Victoria Hills Golf Club course. Shida had rounds of 75 and 71, adding a 73 today. He fired birdies on nine and 13 in the final round.

Freshman Gavin Harper (Twin City, Ga.) carded a 73 today to take 16th overall. He had rounds of 75 and 72 coming into today, and finished at four-over par. The rookie carded three birdies on the back nine today, including two on par-fours.

Senior Joe Young (Cochran, Ga.) posted rounds of 71, 75 and 77, taking 34th. His plus-seven score came from not having a single hole under par in the final two rounds.

Classmate Matthew Yonz (Waycross, Ga.) was 58th at 11-over par with scores of 77-76-74. Sophomore Patrick Garrett (Kennesaw, Ga.) was 96th, posting rounds of 76-79-81.

Flagler finished just six shots shy of getting one of the five spots for the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Lynn University claimed the team title with an 869 and won by four strokes over Barry University (873). Barton College (877), Newberry College (879), and Columbus State University (885) rounded out the top five and will advance to the national championship May 17-20 in Florence, Ala.

Andrew McCracken (Virginia Beach, Va., First Colonial HS) led the Flagler contingent with a 4-over 220 and finished tied for 16th place. McCracken shot an even par 72 today. Chris Bray (Hilliard, Fla., Hilliard HS) finished in a tie for 30th place with a 6-over 222. Joel Dahlenburg (St. Augustine, Fla., Bartram Trail HS) finished in a tie for 40th place with an 8-over 224. Greg Mergel (Allenwood, N.J., Wall Township HS) tied for 53rd place with a 10-over 226. Alex Bennett (Rochester, Mich., Scottsdale CC) rounded out the Flagler players and tied for 80th place with a 15-over 231.

USC Aiken’s Hayden Leiten finished tied for 16th after opening play with rounds of 71 and 73.  UNCP’s Jonathan McCurry just missed out on earning one of the two spots in the finals for individuals not on an advancing team as he finished tied for fifth after a final-round 71.  AASU’s Ridge Pucell led the Pirates with back-to-back 75s in the final two rounds.

Lynn won the regional with a team score of 869 followed by Barry, who posted an 873 mark. Barton (877) came in third place while Newberry finished in fourth with an 879 team score.  All four teams will join CSU at the 2011 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship in Florence, Alabama on May 16-20.

Grant Goforth of Delta State and Jake Murphy of Coker both qualified for the NCAA Championship as individuals after posting scores of 216 and 218, respectively.