WILMINGTON, N.C. – Drew Cooke fired a 2-under-par 70 Monday and Rasmus Karlsson recorded his team-leading fifth top-20 performance of the season to help the University of South Alabama men's golf program post a 293 team total — the Jaguars' lowest of the event — on the final day of the Seahawk Intercollegiate hosted by UNC-Wilmington.
It was an improvement of eight shots over the Jags' second-round figure, helping South move from a tie for ninth into sixth out of 12 schools in the final team standings with a 909 group total.
Karlsson contributed a 73 over the last 18 holes, Brooks Rabren finished with a 74, Jason Mendel had a 76 and Peter Staalbo shot 78, with Karlsson matching his low round of the tournament while Rabren and Mendel posted their lowest scores of the event by two and three strokes, respectively.
"For the most part we played better today," stated USA head coach Alex Hamilton. "Jason had it at 1-under par through 10 holes, Drew obviously played a solid round of golf today as did Rasmus, and Brooks hung in there as well. Our score was one of the better rounds of the day, but all in all we have to keep working on getting better and more consistent.
"Drew got a little bit back on track today; we tweaked a couple of things with his putting and he putted better today, and he actually holed his bunker shot on the last hole for birdie. It was good to see him finish strong and fight through the last shot like that."
Kent State, ranked 11th in the nation coming into play at par-72, 7,036-yard Country Club of Landfall, finished with a 7-under-par 857 team total to place first, 47 shots ahead of runner-up Army. Richmond (906), North Carolina (907) and Campbell (908) rounded out the top five, with the Jags only one shot out of their fifth top-five result of the season.
The Golden Flashes' Josh Whalen posted a 9-under-par 207 54-hole score to take medalist honors, finishing four shots in front of Gisli Sveinbergsson of KSU. Only two other players among the 76 individuals in the field ended up below par at the completion of the tournament.
Karlsson tied for 12th individually with a 222 two-day total, marking the second time in the last three outings the freshman has been South's top finisher. Staalbo was six shot behind in a tie for 22nd place, his best result of the spring, while Cooke moved up 24 places individually into a tie for 34th at 231 after matching his low 18-hole score of the campaign. Rabren tied for 49th place with a 234 three-round score with Mendel ending up in a tie for 65th with a 242 total.
Four Jags ranked among the top 20 individuals in the field in multiple statistical categories, highlighted by Karlsson tying for the tournament lead with 38 pars; he was also tied for fifth with Staalbo playing the par-three holes at even par and tied for 10th in par-four scoring. Rabren tied for second with a pair of eagles, while Cooke was 6 under on the course's par fives to rank among the top 10.
USA is next in action on Monday, April 3, when play begins at Mississippi State's Old Waverly Collegiate Championship.
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.
—USA—
Seahawk Intercollegiate
Country Club of Landfall, Wilmington, N.C.
Par 72, 7,036 yards
Team Scores: 1) Kent State 291-281-285—857 (-7); 2) Army 309-305-290—904; 3) Richmond 306-302-298—906; 4) North Carolina 300-312-295—907; 5) Campbell 311-305-292—908; 6) South Alabama 315-301-293—909; 7) Rhode Island 305-304-301—911; 8) Cleveland State 308-305-301—914; T9) Rutgers 315-300-301—916; T9) UNC-Wilmington 320-302-294—916; 11) Davidson 305-308-312—925; 12) Akron 314-319-303—936.
Individual Leaders: 1) Josh Whalen, KSU 71-66-70—207 (-9); 2) Gisli Sveinbergsson, KSU 70-69-72—211; T3) Keegan Hoff, UR 73-69-73—215; T3) Toks Pedro, RU 73-69-73—215; T5) Craig Hornberger*, CU 75-70-72—217; T5) Peter Kim, Army 73-76-68—217; T5) Jesper Svensson, CU 76-74-67—217; 8) Ben Griffin, UNC 72-76-70—218; T9) Bjarki Petursson, KSU 72-74-74—220; T9) Gaston Bertinotti*, CU 72-75-73—220.
*denotes competing as an inidividual
South Alabama Scores: T12) Rasmus Karlsson 76-73-73—222 (+6); T22) Peter Staalbo 77-73-78—228; T34) Drew Cooke 78-83-70—231; T49) Brooks Rabren 84-76-74—234; T65) Jason Mendel 87-79-76—242.
