Trojans Finish Ninth at USF Invitational

Sunday, March 4

Dade City, Fla.

Troy University

University of South Florida

Photo by: Ricky Hazel

3/6/2012 5:25:00 PM | Golf (M)

By: Liz Balkcom

DADE CITY, Fla. – The Troy men's golf team carded a final-round score of 297 to place them ninth in the final USF Invitational standings at the Lake Jovita Golf Club South Course on Tuesday.

The Trojans finished the three-day event with a team score of 889 after scores of 296 in each of the first two rounds.

UCF won the team title with a total score of 854, finishing six strokes ahead of Georgia. Justin Dorward of Louisville and Chris Pledger of Arkansas State finished tied atop the individual leaderboard with three-round totals of 5-under par 211.

Ricky Casko registered a 1-over par 73 on Tuesday to give him a team-best 218 score for the event and place him in a tie for 19th place.

Tolver Dozier, who sat in fourth after round two, slipped into a tie for 24th after a final-round score of 79.

The Trojans top performer on Tuesday was Wil Clowdus who carded a 1-under par 71. Clowdus improved throughout the tournament after shooting a 79 in the opening round on Sunday and a 77 in round two on Monday.

The Trojans will be in action this weekend when they travel to the Southwood Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., for the Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State.

For more information on Troy Athletics, be sure to visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date with the latest Troy golf news by following @TroyTrojansGolf on Twitter.

Team Standings:
1. Central Florida 284-285-285 --854; 2. Georgia 291-284-285 --860; 3. Kentucky 295-284-289 --868; 4. South Florida 295-289-290 --874; 5. North Carolina 292-288-296 --867; 6. Middle Tennessee State 289-287-302--878; 7. Louisville 304-284-291 --887; 8. Eastern Michigan 296-293-299 --888; 9. Troy 296-296-297--889; T10. Florida State 306-284-301 --891; T10. Villanova 299-294-298 --891; 12. Florida Gulf Coast 304-293-296 --893; 13. Arkansas State 304-287-304 --895; 14. Depaul 305-299-304 --908; 15. Florida Atlantic 311-300-310 --921; 16. Marquette 315-302-320 --937; 17. Cincinnati 312-310-330 --952

Individual Leaders:
T1. Justin Dorward (Louisville) 70-67-74 –211; T1. Chris Pledger (Arkansas State) 74-65-72—211;
3. Brad Schneider (Central Florida) 67-72-73 –212; 4. Chase Parker (Kentucky) 74-67-72 –213; T5. Jose Joia (Central Florida) 65-79-70—214; T5. T.J. Mitchell (Georgia) 70-70-74—214; T7. Joey Garber (Georgia) 73-72-70—215; T7. Chris Malec (Louisville) 75-68-72—215; T7. Nick Reach (Georgia) 75-70-70—215 T10. Hunter Green (Middle Tennessee) 71-69-76—216; T10. Rick Kittelstad (South Florida) 69-75-72—216

Troy Scores:
T19. Ricky Casko 72-73-73 --218; T24. Tolver Dozier 71-69-79 --219; T51. Wil Clowdus 79-77-71 --227; T56. Jake Tucker 74-77-77 --228; T78. Will Garner 83-78-76 --237