Georgia Southern fired a final round, even-par 288 on Sunday to claim a two-stroke victory in the 2003 Southern Conference men’s golf championships at Forest Heights Country Club.
GSU outlasted second-place College of Charleston, while third-place East Tennessee State finished 12 strokes back and was denied an opportunity to add to its record 16 SoCon Championships in men’s golf. The Bucs finished with a three-day total of 884 (293-296-295).
Individually, ETSU’s James Johnson led both the first and second rounds, but the senior struggled on Sunday and fired a 5-over-par 77. Charleston’s Bruce McDonald took advantage by shooting a 3-under 69 to win medallist honors. Johnson and Charleston’s Adam Grodhaus finished tied for second place at even-par.
As for the rest of the Buccaneers, sophomore Chase Baldwin had the best day for any ETSU player, shooting a 2-under 70 to place in a tie for 5th (73-75-70-218 +2). Meanwhile, fellow sophomore Cennydd Mills finished tied for 20th (77-74-74-225 +9) and freshman Derek McNamara ended tied for 25th (74-77-75-226 +10). Sophomore Jeremy Hobson placed 35th (79-77-76-232).
—
The ETSU women’s golf team was unable to make up any ground Tuesday in the final round of the Southern Conference women’s golf championships, finishing fifth with a three-day total of 944 at the Waynesville Golf and Country Club.
Home-standing Western Carolina outlasted Furman by six strokes with a team score of 30-over-par 894 to win the team title. In addition, Western’s Brandy Anderson finished atop the individual leaderboard with a score of 4-under 212, besting Furman’s Brandi Jackson by five strokes.
For the Bucs, freshman Ashley Barton led the way by placing in a tie for 12th with scores of 80-73-79-232. Along with Barton, junior Kristen Fletcher finished tied for 18th with a three-day score of 237, while freshman Kailey Brooks and sophomore Robin McCarley both fired scores of 239 and placed in a tie for 23rd. Danielle O’Reilly ended the event tied for 29th with a score of 245.