University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Badger Invitational
White Finishes 2nd, Upstate 3rd at Badger Invitational
9/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Madison, Wisc. – Taylor White gave it quite a run for the individual championship, but the USC Upstate standout and Duncan native finished second in leading the Spartan men's golf team to a third-place showing in the Badger Invitational at the University Ridge Golf Course Tuesday afternoon.
Perfect weather on Sunday during the first round gave way to windy conditions in the middle of the second round on Monday. The front that brought the windy conditions Monday left cold and windy conditions for Tuesday's final round with temperatures only reaching the high 40's. Upstate was in the final pairing with Sam Houston State and Marquette.
White grabbed the lead midway through his round Tuesday after birdies on holes No. 7 and No. 10 and maintained his lead through the 16th hole. However, Iowa State's Scott Fernandez closed with a round of 66 to overtake White in the final holes and win medalist honors with a 3-under-par 213 total. White turned in a 1-over 73 on the day and finished 2-under (214) for the tournament, just one stroke back. It was the second second-place finish of his career.
"Taylor was in it until the end," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "I know he will finish with a win next time."
White's run at the title helped keep Upstate at the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament. The Spartans shot a 293 on the day while counting a 2-under 70 from Ryan Cornfield, White's 73, a 74 from Sebastian Lopez Bulla and a 76 from Sean Hassell.
Upstate shot its 293, matching the round it turned in Monday and tying for the third-lowest round of the day Tuesday, to finish in third place with an 880 tournament total. The Spartans distanced themselves from the pack behind it and battled throughout the day to move up the leaderboard. At one point, they were six strokes back of the lead and two back of second place. However, Sam Houston State took the team championship with an 871 total, while Iowa State claimed second at 872.
"I am so proud of all of these guys and the way they handled the temperature and the pressure of playing in the final pairing," said Lawton. "We beat some really good teams this week with traditionally strong programs. It gives us good momentum going into the N.C. State tournament next week."
Toledo was fourth with an 889 total and was followed by Marquette (890), Wisconsin (893), Charleston Southern (897), Kansas (899), Illinois State (916), Bowling Green State (916), Rutgers (919), Drake (923) and Bradley (925).
While White was battling for the individual championship, Cornfield turned in a strong round to close out the tournament and quietly finished in a tie for third at even-par 216 over 54 holes. After recording a bogey on his second hole of the day, he birdied three of the next 16 holes and made par on the other 13 to shoot 70.
After a birdie and four bogeys to start his round, Lopez Bulla played his final 13 holes at 1-under to shoot 74 and help keep the Spartans near the top of the leaderboard. Hassell began his round with a birdie and shot his second straight solid round to finish tied for 40th with a 229 total. Trey Taylor's 87 came after turning in two standout rounds to begin the tournament Sunday and Monday when he shot 72 and 76.
"Ryan got better when the conditions worsened, which is not surprising," said Lawton. "Sebastian and Sean overcame rough early starts to keep us in third place for the tournament."
Follow the Spartans on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
