Trojans Tie For Third at Mizuno Intercollegiate

Sunday, October 10

Pooler, GA

Troy University

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Georgia Southern University

Trojans Tie For Third at Mizuno Intercollegiate

10/12/2010 4:45:36 PM | Golf (M)

By: Ricky Hazel

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: PDF | HTML

POOLER, Ga. – The Troy University men's golf team knew going into Tuesday's final round at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate that they needed to get off to a hot start to have a chance to win the event.

The Trojans were matched in the final groups at the Savannah Quarters Country Club with Wofford and tournament leading Florida Gulf Coast, which owned a 19-shot lead over Troy after posting scores of 281 and 275 on the first day of play.

That hot start didn't happen as the Trojans struggled out of the gate, losing seven shots to par over the first four holes of the day. The team bounced back, however, and played well down the stretch to finish tied with Winthrop for third at one-over par for the tournament.

“We did a lot of little things that cost us shots here or there but, overall, we played much better than we have been playing,” Trojans coach Matt Terry said. “To finish under par for a tournament would have been great, but to tie for third at one over is still very good.”

The early round woes for Troy allowed Florida Gulf Coast, which posted an even par round on Tuesday, to coast to the victory. Wofford finished second with a score of three under par.

Two players battled to a tie atop the individual leaderboard. Logan Blondell of Georgia Souhern owned a two shot lead entering the final round, but his two-under 68 on Tuesday was not enough to hold off Richard Fountain of Davidson, who fired a final round of 66 to tie for the title.

Troy senior Zach Portemont of Andalusia was the top individual finisher for the Trojans, shooting a one-under par 71 in the final round to finish at four-under for the tournament, good for eighth place.

Portemont was two over at the turn on Tuesday, but posted four birdies and a bogey on the back nine. He birdied the final two holes to secure a top 10 finish.

Junior Ricky Casko (Cartersville, Ga.) also had a good run on the back nine with four birdies and two bogeys, but a six-over par stretch of five holes on the front dropped him out of the top 10. He finished tied for 19th at one-over par for the tournament.

“We didn't get off to a great start, making some bogeys, but we battled back,” Terry said. “Ricky Casko shot a 76, but he was three under on the back before he bogeyed the last hole. The ball was in the center of the fairway but he juiced it over the green. He should have never had the double on the front, that was a par five, but he showed some mustard, coming back the way he did.”

Junior Hunter Harper (Bessemer, Ala.) was even par on Tuesday for the second straight round and finished tied for 26th at three over for the tournament. Freshman Will Thompson (Montgomery, Ala.) turned in his best collegiate round on Tuesday, firing a one-under 71. He finished tied for 58th at 11 over par.

Sophomore Kyle Blackston (Elizabethtown, Ky.) had a pair of triples during his final round and finished the day at 10-over par. He dropped to a tie for 60th in the tournament at 12-over for the tournament.

“We played very similar to round two today,” Terry said. “We needed to get under par quick to have a chance and we didn't do it. Gulf Coast made a bunch of mistakes today, very similar to what we did. Our guys didn't act any different today than they did yesterday, and that is good. The realize that they have to get better and have to continue to play better.”

After struggling in their first two events, Terry hopes the success in Savannah will carry over to the final event of the fall schedule next week in Hopkinsville, Ky.

“We were one over for a whole tournament, which is tons better than we did in the first two events,” Terry said. “Hopefully it will be good that we get to play again so quickly and we can carry some momentum from this tournament. I hope we can continue to do what we did in this tournament, but that is totally up to them.

“We made some putts this week, but we didn't make a lot. If we played like we did this week up and Austin Peay and we putt well, we'll have a chance.”