Spartans Finish Second At Stono Cup
10/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 7, 2008
Final Round Results in PDF Format
Charleston, S.C. -Stephen F. Austin stormed back from a seven-stroke deficit to start the final round to win in a playoff as the USC Upstate men's golf team settled for second place at the Stono Cup Tuesday afternoon at the 6,616-yard, par-72 Links at Stono Ferry.
Upstate entered the final round with a six stroke lead over Gardner-Webb and a seven-stroke advantage over Stephen F. Austin. While Gardner-Webb faltered with a 322 and fell all the way to a tie for sixth, Stephen F. Austin shot a 297 on the day to put the pressure on Upstate. The Spartans turned in a 304, not counting a score lower than 74, to finish tied for the tournament lead at 884 with SFA. The tournament went to a playoff to determine the winner and Stephen F. Austin won the playoff to take the team championship.
The teams went to the 10th tee with the best four scores out of two playoff groups counting toward the playoff total. Stephen F. Austin posted four pars and a bogey, while Upstate had three pars and two bogeys as SFA won the playoff by a stroke. Upstate's second-place finish was its second of the year. Upstate finished second at the season-opening Rutgers Invitational.
James Madison finished third in the eight-team tournament with an 886 score and was followed by College of Charleston (888), Belmont (895), Gardner-Webb (908), Wofford (908) and Tennessee Tech (918).
Josh Gallman carded the low score on the day for Upstate, finishing the final round with a 74 to finish in a tie for fifth place 2-over-par 218. The top-10 finish was his 21st top-20 finish and his 20th top-10 finish of his career, both school records. Tyler Tucker, who helped push Upstate to the six-stroke lead Monday, finished seventh after posting a 78 Tuesday and settling for a 3-over-par 219 effort for the tournament.
Michael Lawrence was the third Spartan to finish in the top-10 in the tournament. He shot 76 Tuesday to finish with a 221 total and in a tie for 10th. Baxter Culler was 20th after totaling 226 for the tournament, while Jamie Lightsey finished in a tie for 38th at 242.
"Having three players in the top-10 is very good," said Lawton. "We put ourselves in position to win the tournament with the individual performances. We have lost two tournaments this fall by a total of one shot. Everyone is agreed that is unacceptable. We just need to execute and pull it off to win a tournament and get a win under our belt."
Stephen F. Austin's Kyle Robbins took a commanding lead into the final round and finished with a 74 to take a three-stoke win over James Madison's Michael Meisenzahl. Robbins finished the tournament at 5-under, while Meisenzahl was 2-under.
