HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Senior Sylas Elliott posted a top-15 finish to pace the University of South Alabama men's golf team at the season-opening Sam Hall Intercollegiate hosted by Southern Mississippi.
Elliott's 74 Tuesday matched the low round of the day for the Jaguars, and with a 2-over-par 215 54-hole score he tied for 13th in the individual standings. Stephen Wall also recorded a 74 in the last round, as South had a 301 total to conclude the event with a two-day 887 figure in 11th place among the 12 schools competing.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Sam Hall Intercollegiate (Southern Mississippi)
Date: 9/12
Course: Hattiesburg Country Club (par 71, 6,902 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=13641
TEAM SCORES
1) Sam Houston State 285-287-285—857 (+5); 2) Texas-Arlington 285-289-283—857; 3) Southern Mississippi 279-285-295—859; 4) Texas-San Antonio 282-286-292—860; 5) Missouri State 290-289-285—864; 6) Rice 296-290-285—871; 7) Samford 287-298-287—872; 8) Mercer 293-298-284—875; 9) Louisiana-Lafayette 297-299-284—880; 10) Southeastern Louisiana 295-296-295—886; 11) South Alabama 286-300-301—887; 12) New Orleans 306-307-303—916.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Brad Carpenter, MSU 73-69-69—211 (-2); T2) Zander Lozano, UTSA 69-72-71—212; T2) Stanton Schorr, MU 71-74-67—212; T4) Nick Thornton, UTA 72-70-71—213; T4) William Holcomb, SHSU 71-72-70—213; T4) Austen Christiansen, SHSU 70-72-71—213; T4) Lino Galdin*, MU 71-70-72—213; T8) five individuals with 214.
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T13) Sylas Elliott 66-75-74—215 (+2); T34) Rasmus Karlsson 68-75-77—220; T37) Jason Mendel 73-72-76—221; T65) Stephen Wall 80-78-74—232; 72) Peter Staalbo 79-79-77—235; 74) Spencer Arnold* 90-84-81—255.
*denotes competed as an individual
TEE SHOTS
-It's the first time since last fall's Steelwood Collegiate Invitational that Elliott has posted the lowest three-round score on the team.
-This was the fourth top-20 result for the senior in nine events since he joined the program last fall.
-Elliott was among the top 15 in the field, which included 75 individuals, in scoring on par-three (+1) and par-four (+2) holes, and his 41 pars over three rounds were four more than any other player carded.
-Wall's 74 — which matched Elliott for the Jags' low 18-hole score of the day — was the best score he has recorded as a member of the Jaguar lineup.
-Beginning play on the 10th hole, five of the team's seven birdies in the final round came on the back nine of the course.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On the final round: "We got off to a tough start today as a group — things carried over from yesterday's second round — and we started to push and press; we made some errant bogeys, which put us in the position we are."
On Sylas Elliott: "I'm happy for Sylas, he is coming off an injury and been working really hard. He played great this week, I'm hoping he can build on this in future events. This is a hard game, so it's always nice to see some production from your work."
On preparing for the next tournament: "We'll do some evaluations at the golf course and attempt to set up practices that focus on our preparation. Individually, we will try to continue to work on getting better."
Up next: The Jaguars are schedule to return to action on Monday, Sept. 25 at Alabama-Birmingham's Shoal Creek Invitational.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Birdie Club — the men's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Birdie Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/birdieclub.
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