‘Cats take third at Kiawah, Young shines

The GCSU golf team got their fall season rolling Sept. 8-9 with a third place finish at the Kiawah Invitational. The host school, the University of South Carolina at Aiken, won the event held on Cougar Point Golf Club in Kiawah Island, S.C.

The Bobcats finished the 36-hole event nine-under-par, placing them eight shots behind Peach Belt foe USC Aiken and two shots away from second place Coker College. Coker’s Chris Marsh and Aiken’s J.P. Solis tied regulation play at 11-under before Marsh prevailed in a two-hole playoff.

Returning All-PBC sophomore Joe Young led the way for GCSU with rounds of 66 and 70. Young’s eight-under-par total put him in third place, which was just three shots out of the individual playoff.

“I felt like it was a good start for me, but I definitely want an individual title this year,” Young said.

Also turning in good performances were the international crew, led by Sweden’s Niclas Johansson and Argentina’s Francisco Bide. Both finished the week in tenth place at two-under-par.
The juniors shot rounds of 72 and 70 and flip-flopped scores the first and second days.

Johansson said the hot and calm weather was ideal for scoring as the competitors dodged potential hurricane trouble on the coast.

“I could have played better myself because I was a little rusty,” Johansson said. “This week was a good start to get into tournament mode.”

Adding to the Bobcats’ foreign flavor, Brazil’s Pedro Lima finished his first college event at three-over-par after carding 71-76. Lima, a junior transfer, was a late addition to the roster this fall.

“(Lima) is getting along great with us,” Head Coach Jimmy Wilson said. ” He’s just grateful for the chance to play.”

Rounding out the Bobcat five, sophomore Billy Shida struggled to find his rhythm, shooting 76-79 in the opener. Shida looks to rediscover the late season birdies he showed in last year’s NCAA regional and national tournaments.

The third-place team finish was the best ever for the Bobcats at this event. They more than slightly improved on the twelfth-place finish from the fall 2007 tournament.

“It showed us the work we need to put in to win and how we stack up in the conference,” Young said.

Wilson felt there were a few first-tournament jitters that the team shook off at Kiawah.

“I think Francisco turned a corner in the way he bounced back from a few double bogeys early in the second round,” Wilson said.

The golfers get little rest as they head to Florence, S.C. for their second of four fall events hosted by Francis Marion University on Sept. 15-16.

Red shirt sophomore Matthew Yonz will compete as an individual next week as he tries to earn a spot on the traveling team.

“I have all the confidence in the world in Matt,” Wilson said. ” He just needs a chance to shine.”

GCSU is one of few Division II schools competing at the Raines Development Group Intercollegiate tournament. The tournament allows the Bobcats to see where they stack up against top-level competition at The Country Club of South Carolina.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 12 2008. 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