University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Jones Invitational
Upstate Finishes Play at Jones Invitational
2/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Valencia, Calif. – Sebastian Lopez Bulla birdied two of his last three holes to shoot a 1-over-par 73 to lead the USC Upstate men's golf team in the final round of the Jones Invitational Tuesday afternoon at the Valencia Country Club.
Upstate finished 15th in the tournament that boasted a strong field. Of the 15 teams in the tournament, nine were ranked in the Top 100 in the nation, including fourth-ranked Southern Cal, with the Spartans coming in as the lowest-ranked team in the field at No. 161. There were also seven players ranked in the Top 100 in the Golfstat ranking. It marked the second straight tournament where the Spartans faced nine teams ranked in the Top 100 after battling a strong field at the Sea Best Seafood Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., in early February.
Upstate's Ryan Cornfield completed another solid effort in a strong tournament field. He claimed a Top 20 individual finish after coming in tied for 19th at 3-over. He shot rounds of 68, 72 and 79. He began his final round with a birdie on his third hole to move to 5-under for the tournament, but played his final 15 holes at 9-over to finish with a 79. He made a birdie on his final nine holes to help maintain his position in the Top 20. He finished ahead of 27th-ranked Grant Forrest from San Diego. His tie for 19th this week followed a tie for 21st in a strong individual field in the Sea Best Seafood Invitational.
Lopez Bulla was solid throughout his round Tuesday. He made two bogeys and converted seven pars to play his first nine holes at 2-over. He rallied on his final nine holes, recording a pair of birdies and playing the nine in 1-under to claim a 73 to lead the Spartans.
In addition to Lopez Bulla's 73, Upstate counted scores of 77 from Taylor White, 79 from Cornfield and 80 from Andrew Purcell en route to a 309 score for the day. Trey Taylor added an 84. White birdied his first two holes and made four in the round. Purcell added three birdies, while Taylor made two. In all, the Spartans made 37 birdies in the tournament.
Fourth-ranked Southern Cal ran away with the tournament championship. The Trojans finished the 54-event with an 850 total. No. 22 Kennesaw State finished second at 866 and was followed by No. 57 Northwestern (870), No. 70 Sam Houston State (877), No. 85 BYU (877), Pepperdine (879), No. 50 Winthrop (880), Lipscomb (885), No. 63 San Diego (887), UC Irvine (890), Fresno State (893), No. 69 Georgia State (896), No. 91 Pacific (901), Notre Dame (907) and Upstate (919).
Winthrop's Zach Seabolt (No. 36) and Southern Cal's Sean Crocker (No. 25) finished in a tie for the individual championship at 8-under 208.
Cornfield finished in a tie for 19th with a 219 total. White was the second-best Spartan in the tournament, coming in with a tie for 55th with 229 total. Lopez Bulla was tied for 63rd with a 231 total.
