LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 43 Valdosta State men's golf team fired a final round 303 to finish 12
th at the Matlock Collegiate Classic on Tuesday with a final 54-hole score of 915. No. 26 Columbus State won the 15-team field by 17 strokes with an 858 score.
No. 15 Florida Tech finished second at 875, followed by the host Moccasins of No. 34 Florida Southern at 877. No. 5 Lynn and No. 3 West Florida tied for fourth at 878 on the par 72, 7,065-yard Lone Palm Golf Club course.
No. 22 Limestone finished sixth at 893, while Georgia College was seventh (900), No. 19 Rollins was eighth (902) and there was a tie for ninth between Montevallo and No. 12 Saint Leo at 903. No. 50 Nova Southeastern finished 11
th at 905, followed by the Blazers. Trevecca Nazarene and Palm Beach Atlantic tied for 13
th at 926, while Eckerd College was 15
th at 927.
Florida Tech's Max O'Hagan took home medalist honors with a 14-under 202 on rounds of 69, 66, and 67. He won by nine strokes over Columbus State's Jordan Doull (211). West Florida's Carolos Marrero was third (212), followed by Ronan Kleu of Columbus State (213). There was a tie for fifth between Agustin Errazuriz of Lynn and Max Coutsolioutsos of Florida Southern at 217.
After a disappointing first round on Monday, the Blazers settled down and played better in the final two rounds, with Monday's second round being the best with a 297 after opening with a 315 yesterday. Sophomore
Davis Smith paced the team, finishing tied for 21
st with a 223 score (75-73-75), while junior
Wesley Hanson tied for 37
th at 226 (76-74-76). Senior
Jordan Long finished tied for 59
th on rounds of 81, 76 and 75 for a 232 score, while freshman
Ryan Pollman was 66
th with a 234 score. He fired round of 83, 74 and 77, while sophomore
Gage Smith tied for 71
st with a 241 score on rounds of 86, 77 and 78. Playing as an individual, VSU junior
AJ Ouimet finished tied for 21
st with a 223 score on rounds of 75, 76 and 72.
The Blazers return home to prepare for the Saint Leo Invitational at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club in Dade City, Fla., Feb. 24-25.
