University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Amelia Island Invitational
Goins Leads Spartans as Upstate Finishes 7th at Amelia Island Intercollegiate
11/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Amelia Island, Fla. – Gaffney native Adam Goins shot a 1-under-par 71 in the final round of the Amelia National Intercollegiate Tuesday afternoon, leading the USC Upstate men's golf team to a seventh-place finish. The Spartans began the day in 11th and picked up four positions to close out the tournament.
Upstate played its fourth and final tournament of the fall season at the Amelia National Intercollegiate. The Spartans ended the fall on a solid note and with momentum, improving its tournament position by eight spots from the first round. Upstate turned in a 300 team score on Tuesday and finished with a 54-hole total of 902. The Spartans jumped over A-Sun rival Jacksonville, Wofford, Winthrop and Penn State for its seventh-place finish.
"We saw some gutsy rounds today," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "The scores weren't real low, but in relation to the field, they ended up being enough for us to get a solid finish. It was a good tournament and a good finish.
"The course was setup for its toughest conditions. The pins and tees were setup much more difficult than they were in the first two rounds yesterday. You really had to prepare yourself for every shot. Finishing with a 300 is not something we were really shooting for or something we wanted. But, the course played very tough and in the end, we had a good finish."
Upstate managed to move up four spots on the leaderboard due in large part behind the play of Goins and Brian Horton (Boiling Springs, S.C.). Goins turned in a strong 71 and Horton finished one stroke back at 72 to lead the Spartan cause in the final round.
"Adam and Brian went low when we needed it and allowed us to move up the leaderboard," said Lawton. "They played steady throughout the round and highlighted our performance today."
North Florida, ranked sixth in the nation and co-host of the event with Georgia Southern, shot a 286 on Tuesday and claimed the team championship with an 843 tournament total. Texas A&M (853), ranked No. 13, finished 10 shots back in second and was followed by Georgia Southern (866), Virginia Commonwealth (878), Xavier (887), Troy (888), Upstate (902), Jacksonville (903), Furman (905), Arkansas State (908), Wofford (908), Winthrop (913), Francis Marion (915), Penn State (919) and Elon (931).
Goins finished the tournament tied for 32nd with a 225 total. Horton was tied for 39th with a 227 total. Brad Sill (Spartanburg, S.C.) tied Horton at 39th. Matthew Hopper finished tied for 55th with a 232 tournament total, while Tyler Comer (Spartanburg, S.C.) finished with a 77 on Tuesday and 233 tournament effort. McKenzie Oref (Easley, S.C.), playing as an individual, shot 76 on Tuesday and finished with a 246 total.
North Florida's Sean Dale turned in his third round under par with a 70 to win the individual championship. He totaled 9-under for the tournament with a 207 total and won the championship by three strokes over teammate Kevin Phelan.
