Wind, competition stymie ‘Cats at PBC

     Faced with brutal playing conditions and stiff competition, the GCSU golf team could muster only a fifth place finish in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) championship.
     The Bobcats hosted the tournament, held at the Harbor Club in Eatonton, where ferocious winds constantly tore through the fairways and greens.
     “It was rough,” junior Kyle Collins said of the wind. “Monday it was gusting like 40 to 50 miles per hour.”
     Entering the final round, the Bobcats were in fourth place. But after shooting a team score of 308 they fell behind No. 10 University of South Carolina at Aiken, who finished in fourth. The Bobcats finished the tournament with a score of 922, four strokes behind USC Aiken.
     No. 4 Columbus State University outshined all the competition, easily winning with a combined score of 897, No. 19 University of South Carolina Upstate placed second shooting a 907. No. 9 Armstrong Atlantic State University rounded out the top three with a 912.
     “I came out and shot pretty well the first day,” said Collins, who shot 79 and 74 on Monday, “I got tired after that and came out Tuesday and shot in the 80’s for the first time this year.”
Collins shot an 81 Tuesday and finished the tournament as the Bobcats’ third place qualifier, tying for 19th overall.
     Head Coach Jimmy Wilson is not making excuses for his team.
     “The conditions were bad for everyone,” Wilson said. “I guess we just weren’t as prepared as we could have been and for that I take the blame.”
     Senior Johan Cronvall led the way for the Bobcats, finishing seventh overall with a total score of 225 highlighted by a 73 on Tuesday. Freshman Francisco Bide shot a 231, the second best score for the Bobcats, placing him at 17th overall.
     “I did okay,” Cronvall said. “I feel like I played pretty well given the conditions, the team, overall, could have played better, hopefully we’ll be better at regionals.”
     The Bobcats will not compete again until the NCAA Southeast Regional, beginning Monday, May 7, and hosted by Armstrong Atlantic.
     “I don’t think (the team’s showing in the PBC tournament) is anything to be alarmed about,” Wilson said. “We just have to get back to work and get through this slump we’re in right now.”
Collins and Cronvall shared Wilson’s enthusiasm, expressing that the team can get back on track.
     “The season has been a little intense,” Cronvall said. “We did really well at the beginning (of the season), now we’ve got a couple weeks to prepare and get back into that groove.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 20 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry