Bobcats capture PBC title
The No. 2 GCSU golf team took the first place title out of 19 teams at the Peach Belt Conference Championship on Apr. 12-13. The win marked the second time in GCSU history that the golf team was the champion of the PBC; the first for the Bobcats was in 2000.
“It was a pretty tall order, I’m proud of the guys and I’m proud for them,” head coach Jimmy Wilson said. “They had their head in the game the whole time, I asked them to give it everything they’ve got and they did that for three rounds.”
The three-round championship was held at the par-72, 7,057-yard Mountain View course in Callaway Gardens. The Bobcats finished the three rounds with a total score of 881, beating the runner up USC Aiken by eight strokes.
“Our consistency more or less helped us win the tournament,” Wilson said. “We played as solid as solid can be and we won by eight strokes, I couldn’t ask for a whole lot more than that.”
Coming in first for GCSU was senior Niclas Johansson, who shot 72 in all three rounds for an even-par score of 216. Johansson finished just two strokes behind the individual PBC champion.
Finishing second for the Bobcats and ending up just shy of the top five was junior Joe Young, who shot a 74 in the first two rounds and a 73 in the final round, giving him a total score of 221 and earning him sixth place overall.
Nipping at his fellow Bobcats heels was junior Billy Shida, finishing at seventh place. Shida shot a 73 in Monday’s first round, a 76 in the second round, and a 74 in the final round, giving him a total score of 223.
“It has a lot to do with confidence and knowing if your teammates are going to play well,” Shida said. “You feed off each other’s energy knowing that your teammates have your back, this enables you to stay in your own little world and not have to worry about your teammates.”
Coming in just one stroke short of the top 10 was senior Francisco Bide, who shot a 75 in the first round, a 74 in the second round and closed out with a 76, earning him a total score of 225 and placing him 13th overall.
Bringing up the rear for GCSU was junior Matthew Yonz, who shot an 84 in the first round and finished rounds two and three with a pair of 74s, tying him at 36th overall.
The Bobcats are on the road May 3-5 to compete in the NCAA Super Regionals which will be held at the Wilson Country Club in North Carolina, hosted by Barton College.
“We need to work on staying sharp and making sure we get in enough practice and are able to manage our time,” Wilson said. “We are excited about our chance at regionals, but there are no guarantees from this point forward.”
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