MOBILE, Ala. – Rasmus Karlsson and Yannick Schütz both recorded the lowest 18-hole scores of their careers on Tuesday, and in the process helped lift the University of South Alabama men's golf team to a second-place result at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate.

In the final round of the first event of the spring season, Karlsson fired a 6-under-par 66 while Schütz carded a 5-under-par 67 as the duo placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the individual standings; the former had a two-day score of 8-under-par 208, two shots ahead of the latter.  Brooks Rabren supplied a 3-under-par 69 — one off his best mark of the campaign — with Jason Mendel and Peter Staalbo both shooting 74 to give the Jaguars a 14-under-par 850 group score.

South was second in a field of 16 competitors, finishing behind only Florida State after the Seminoles matched the Jags' 276 final-round score for a 30-under-par 834 total over 54 holes.  FSU's Harry Ellis and Jamie Li finished at 11-under-par 205 to share medalist honors.

The Seminoles also featured the winner of the USA Individual Tournament after Bennett Baker posted a 4-under-par 209 three-round score to best a field of 40 players.  Sylas Elliott led the Jaguars in the event, using a 69 and 3-under-par 68 over the final 36 holes to shoot even-par 213 and tie for fourth in the final standings.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate (South Alabama)
Date: 2/13
Course: Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course (par 72, 7,212 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=14401

TEAM SCORES
1) Florida State 280-278-276—834 (-30); 2) South Alabama 287-287-276—850; 3) Western Kentucky 291-279-288—858; 4) Illinois State 299-286-282—867; 5) Kennesaw State 295-294-281—870; 6) Notre Dame 297-292-284—873; T7) Jacksonville State 297-292-295—884; T7) Louisiana 300-295-289—884; T7) Richmond 300-291-293—884; T10) Nicholls 299-298-288—885; T10) Central Arkansas 295-289-301—885; 12) Louisiana Tech 304-296-290—890; 13) Oral Roberts 306-298-287—891; T14) Samford 302-302-290—894; T14) Abilene Christian 319-290-285—894; 16) Southern Mississippi 307-295-300—902.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
T1) Harry Ellis, FSU 69-67-69—205 (-11); 1) Jamie Li, FSU 68-69-68—205; 3) Billy Tom Sargent, WKU 69-68-69—206; 4) Rasmus Karlsson, USA 74-68-66—208; 5) Yannick Schütz, USA 73-70-67—210; T6) Wyatt Larkin, KSU 71-72-69—212; T6) Jonathan Keppler, FSU 72-69-71—212; T8) Davis Lamb, ND 72-70-71—213; T8) John Pak, FSU 71-74-68—213; 10) Pablo Rodriguez-Tabernero, KSU 75-70-69—214.

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
4) Rasmus Karlsson 74-68-66—208 (-8); 5) Yannick Schütz 73-70-67—210; T12) Peter Staalbo 69-73-74—216; T27) Brooks Rabren 75-76-69—220; T35) Jason Mendel 71-76-74—221.

USA INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT LEADERS
1) Bennett Baker, FSU 73-67-69—209 (-4); T2) Greyson Porter, FSU 72-73-67—212; T2) Goodman Rudolph, Miss St 72-70-70—212; T4) Sylas Elliott, USA 76-69-68—213; T4) Ben Fernandez, Kansas St 74-68-71—213; T4) Parker Reddig, FSU, 70-71-72—213; T7) Stephen Wall, USA 73-69-73—215; T7) Jeremy Gandon, Kansas St 71-68-76—215; T7) Trent Evans, Kansas St 73-70-72—215; T7) Jakob Eklund, Kansas St 74-72-69—215.

SOUTH ALABAMA INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT SCORES
T4) Sylas Elliott 76-69-68—213 (E); T7) Stephen Wall 73-69-73—215; T38) Justin Choi 79-83-78—240.

TEE SHOTS
-Florida State's two-day, 30-under-par 834 broke the existing tournament record set by Auburn in 2016 by four shots.
-It's the second year in a row that the Jaguars have come in second place in the team standings, matching their best-ever finish at the event.
-Not only was it the lowest 18-hole score of his career, Karlsson posted his best three-round total since joining the program in the fall of 2016 as well.
-It's the first time Schütz has shot below 70 in his collegiate career, with the sophomore also recording a career-best three-round total.
-The duo each carded six birdies over the final 18 holes, as Karlsson shot 4 under on the back nine while Schütz had three in a row on Nos. 6-8 after beginning the round on the third tee.
-Karlsson led the field while shooting 7 under on par-four holes, and Schütz was tied for third with a 6 under total on par fives.
-Rabren supplied six birdies in the last round also, accomplishing the feat on consecutive holes twice; it was the fifth time he has shot par or better in 2017-18.
-Karlsson (14), Schütz (13) and Rabren (12) were all among the top 10 in the field in birdies carded during the tournament, with the former sharing the lead in the category with three other individuals.
-Staalbo's top-20 result was his first since tying for 11th place at the David Toms Intercollegiate hosted by LSU on Oct. 8-9, 2016.
-Elliott now leads the Jags with six rounds of par or better after playing the back side of the par-71, 7,158-yard Magnolia Grove Falls Golf Course 5-under par over the last 36 holes highlighted by a bogey-free 33 in the final round.
-The top-10 finish was Wall's second in as many years as he recorded the best 54-hole score of his career.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On the team's play on the last day of the tournament: "The guys played fantastic today, they closed well to finish the second round and carried that momentum into the final round.  As the day progressed they continued to move forward — they got to 16-under par at one point in the afternoon, that's as low as I ever remember being as a team — before closing with 12 under, which is a phenomenal round of golf.  Truthfully, if it wasn't for Florida State having an incredible tournament — and kudos to them — we played great."
On his expectations entering the week: "I try not expect anything, I try to stay in the present tense; we preach to the guys all the time about taking care of what you can control.  Am I surprised?  No, this is an incredibly talented team, there are some really good players in this group who push each other and feed off each other both at home and at events.  Obviously everybody loves to play well — and we played great today — so we are hoping to build on that, get a little better and keep moving forward as we prepare for the end of the year."
On returning to competition this coming weekend: "It will be a quick turnaround for sure as we head to Houston, which is going to be an incredible field and a very good venue.  I've never been there so I don't know what to expect, but I've heard great things.  The best time to play is when you're playing well, and certainly the guys are doing that.  To come out of the fall finishing well at Steelwood and start the spring with contributions from everyone shooting many rounds under par, I'm very excited and looking forward to Houston."

Rasmus Karlsson
On his performance in the last two rounds of the event: "I was hitting my driver really well and my putting was the best it's ever been.  That was the key."
On his start to the spring season and how to continue it: "It's awesome.  I need to keep practicing my routines, it's a process."

Yannick Schütz
On the key to his results in the final round: "I think the putter was key today.  I feel like I was hitting the ball better yesterday, but I managed to hole a lot more putts today and pitched it in on No. 8 — which was a big bonus — and that helped lead to six birdies."
On his expectations coming into the tournament: "I was sure that I had a good chance to play well, but I wasn't feeling a 67 to be honest.  That's a good round of golf and I wasn't that close in qualifying, but I think it was a matter of time for things to click and to actually go low because I felt my long game was getting better and everything was going in the right direction."
On returning to action this weekend: "I'm really, really excited.  It was big to play well here to kick off the [spring] season, I think we can be a little more relaxed now going to Houston.  I think it [this week's performance] helps take off a lot of pressure."

Up next: Play begins Friday with the first of three rounds at Houston's All-American Intercollegiate.

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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