Golf struggles, ties for third at Crystal Lake

After impressive showings in the last two fall events boosting their ranking inside the top five nationally, Bobcat golf met frustration. The ball strayed from the target early this week as the No. 4-ranked golfers tied for third place with host Clayton State University at the State Farm Laker Invitational.

Despite a new-look roster, No. 1-ranked University of West Florida medaled at even-par with the University of North Carolina at Pembroke coming in second, six strokes back.

Coming off consecutive team totals of nine-under-par in both opening events, GCSU stalled a bit, finishing three rounds at seven-over-par. The par-72 layout at the host Crystal Lake Golf and Country Club frustrated players, as the Bobcats shot 295 in the morning round.

“We started slow in the first round and were lucky to shoot what we did,” Head Coach Jimmy Wilson said. “I think we got psyched out about the course Sunday night.”

The lone glimmer in the opening 18 holes came by way of junior Niclas Johansson’s two-under 70 as no other GCSU golfer broke par.

The touch returned for the squad in afternoon play as par was broken by three out of five starters. A middle round of 282 looked more like the norm as sophomore Joe Young rebounded from a drop score of 77 to post a bogey-free round of 68.

Fellow sophomore Billy Shida and junior Pedro Lima threw a 71 and 70 into the mix, placing the Bobcats in second place after day one. Even with the second round jump, Wilson felt things weren’t all there.

Talented junior veteran Francisco Bide lost his magic touch posting dual scores of 76.

“This team plays on emotion,” Wilson said. “I felt guys grinding hard, but the focus wasn’t there coming down the stretch.”
Despite all the adversity early on, GCSU only stood six shots behind West Florida with the final round to go.

Unfortunately, the Bobcats mounted no charge in a lackluster 294 round to close the event. West Florida cruised to their first victory of the year as they bettered GCSU by one shot on the day.

Young continued his birdie roll with another 68, placing him in third at three-under-par as his last 36 holes featured nine birdies and an eagle. The individual finish ties Young’s career best.

“Something clicked around the 20th hole the first day, and I got on a roll,” Young said. “I took myself out of the moment and got freed up to hit golf shots.”

Johansson polished off an eleventh place finish, giving him another top-fifteen, ending the tournament at one-over-par. Shida and Lima tied each other with five-over-par 221, just good enough for a top-thirty.

Demonstrating the depth of Bobcat golf, redshirt sophomore Matthew Yonz competed as an individual for the second straight event. Hoping to break into the starting lineup, Yonz threw a 72 in the middle of two 76s.

Yonz said he feels like his game is steadily improving this fall.
“Top to bottom I think we can compete with anyone in the country, so breaking into the lineup is tough,” Yonz said.
Yonz led GCSU players with eleven birdies for the week.

“Matt respects both playing as an individual and in the starting five the same,” Wilson said. “He grinds just as hard either way.”
The Bobcats were second among Peach Belt Conference schools, losing by one shot to UNCP on the strength of their freshman Jordan Walor taking the individual trophy. Walor’s victory was the first for a UNCP golfer in over three years.

GCSU closes the fall season in Columbus, Ga. at the Cougar Invitational Oct. 6-7. The tournament is hosted by PBC rival Columbus State University.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 3 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