Spartans Finish A Windy 4th At Seascape
10/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 28, 2008
Complete Final Results in PDF Format
Kitty Hawk, N.C. - The USC Upstate men's golf team struggled with its consistency in heavy winds, but most every other team also had difficulty in the wind as the Spartans finished the tournament the way it started the second round, in fourth place in the 15-team event.
Jamie Lightsey made personal history as he coupled the 70 he turned in Monday with a 77 Tuesday to finish with a 147 total and in a tie for 14th individually as the low Spartan in the tournament. It marked the first time in his four-year career that he finished as the low Spartan in a tournament with feel.
"It was pretty cool (to finish as the low Upstate player in the tournament)," said Lightsey. "I shot 77 today which wasn't good, but it wasn't bad in the conditions. I just wish I could have played better and the team could have played better for us to finish higher. Fourth place is okay, but I wanted the team to be better. I never really care where I finish, I just want the team to do well."
"It is so exciting that he shot 70 yesterday and went out in our final group today playing with ODU's No. 1 player," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "He controlled the ball all the way around and to see him lead the tournament from start to finish for us was really nice to see. Everyone on our team knows he has the ability to do that and he did it today."
Upstate turned in a 308 Tuesday to finish with a 289-308=597 total. The 308 was 17 strokes higher than the Spartans carded in Monday's opening round. High winds which were steady at 25 miles per hour and gusting to 35 miles per hour, along with wind chill temperatures in the upper 30s, plagued most of the teams and golfers on the day. Just two of the 15 teams turned in a better second round than the first, Old Dominion and Temple, and 13 of the 15 teams finishing at 300 or higher.
ODU's 289 Tuesday was the lowest of the day and enabled the Monarchs to jump over Campbell to win the tournament which it hosted. ODU finished with a 290-289=579 total to down Campbell by seven strokes. Campbell turned in a 301 in the final round and finished second with a 586 total. James Madison was third with a 589 total and was followed by Upstate (597), George Washington (599), Radford (603), Liberty (603), Temple (603), Drexel (603), Elon (603), Binghamton (606), Towson (611), St. Bonaventure (617), George Mason (625) and St. Joseph's (640).
"It was ridiculously windy and cold," said Lawton. "During the round, I thought we were playing horribly. We hit decent shots but just didn't make any putts. We only had four birdies on the day. We were paired with Old Dominion and every one of their players made shots. Then when we finished, I realized that everybody in the tournament struggled to find the confidence in the conditions. There weren't a lot of good looks for birdies out there."
Lightsey's performance led Upstate throughout the tournament. The 77 he turned in Tuesday was the second-lowest score turned in by the Spartans on the day. Baxter Culler and Michael Lawrence each carded 76 in the windy and cold conditions. Culler finished as the second-lowest Spartan in the tournament, finishing with a 148 total and in a tie for 20th. Lawrence finished with a 151 total to finish in a tie for 29th along with teammate Josh Gallman. Gallman finished with a 79 Tuesday. Tyler Tucker, who was unable to play yesterday after becoming ill, took to the course Tuesday and finished with an 82.
"It was pretty tough playing in the wind today," said Lightsey. "But, to be honest with you, I had a pretty good time. I have never been a technical player and with the conditions we played in today, you really had to play on feel. I think that played into my strengths."
Liberty's Tobias Pettersson and St. Joseph's Jim Bea finished with an even-par 170 total to finish tied for first after regulation play. However, Bea and the rest of the St Joseph's squad had to leave early to return to campus preventing a playoff from occurring. As a result, Pettersson took home the first-place trophy and medalist honors.
