BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Junior Yannick Schütz posted a 2-under-par 70 in the completion of the second round of the Shoal Creek Invitational on Tuesday, going on to lead the University of South Alabama men's golf team with a 218 total as the Jaguars' second event of the fall came to an end.
It was the second straight top 20 finish recorded by Schütz, who tied for 17th place in the individual standings. His efforts helped South card a 295 group score in the second round and a total of 899 over 54 holes to finish 10th as a team.
Bolstered by an 11-under-par 277 in the second round, Texas A&M won the tournament title with an 8-under-par 856 total, with North Florida coming in second place with a score of 865 and Vanderbilt in third two shots behind the Ospreys. UNF's Phillip Knowles and Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern shared medalist honors with a three-round, 6-under-par 210 score.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Shoal Creek Invitational (Alabama-Birmingham)
Date: 9/25
Course: Shoal Creek Country Club (par 72, 7,300 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=16260
TEAM SCORES
1) Texas A&M 288-277-291—856 (-8); 2) North Florida 284-289-292—865; 3) Vanderbilt 292-283-292—867; 4) Ole Miss 288-289-293—870; T5) Kansas 289-294-293—876; T5) Kennesaw State 288-293-295—876; 7) Georgia Southern 285-296-296—877; 8) Liberty 298-290-291—879; 9) Alabama-Birmingham 292-303-295—890; 10) South Alabama 304-295-300—899; 11) Louisiana Tech 299-307-294—900; 12) High Point 305-296-302—903; 13) Samford 315-304-303—922; 14) Lipscomb 304-315-305—924.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
T1) Phillip Knowles, UNF 70-70-70—210 (-6); T1) Steven Fisk, GS 68-71-71—210; 3) Travis Trace, UNF 66-72-73—211; T4) Gabe Lench, Lib 70-72-72—214; T4) Braden Thornberry, OM 72-71-71—214; T7) six individuals with 215.
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T17) Yannick Schütz 73-70-75—218 (+2); T33) Rasmus Karlsson 75-74-74—223; T42) Jordan Plunkett* 82-71-71—224; T52) Kyle Robinson 78-75-74—227; T68) Peter Staalbo 79-76-77—232; T83) Brooks Rabren 78-83-78—239.
*denotes competed as an individual
TEE SHOTS
-It was the second straight top-10 result for the Jaguars, who were competing in a field of 14 teams.
-The event included 87 individuals, with only 12 of those posting 54-hole scores under par.
-Schütz has now finished among the top 20 at each of the Jags' first two tournaments, recording the low score on the team in three of five rounds.
-The junior was tied for the lead in the tournament with a 2-under total on par-three holes.
-Eight of his team-leading nine birdies this week came on the course's back nine; that included four as part of a bogey-free 32 to make the turn 4-under par in the second round.
-Competing individually, freshman Jordan Plunkett carded his first two scores of par or better after shooting 1-under-par 71 in the second and third rounds.
-Both he and Schütz had eagles over the final 18 holes, accomplishing the feat on the par-five third and sixth holes, respectively.
-After recording one birdie in each of the first two rounds, Karlsson had a team-best five in the final round, including three on his opening nine holes to make the turn 1 under.
-Robinson matched Karlsson for the team's low 18-hole score in the last round with a season-best 74 that was highlighted by playing the final seven holes at 2-under par.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On how the team played in the event: "It was an unfortunate week for us, we hoped to play better. We couldn't really get anything going, and when we did we made some big numbers which didn't allow us to get any momentum and shoot the kind of scores that we are capable of posting."
On Yannick Schütz' performance in the tournament: "Yannick played pretty solid all week. He got it under par a couple of times early in the second and third rounds, but he had an errant tee ball and made a big number which set him back a little bit. He hung in there and battled and closed with another top-20 finish."
On how the team approaches its next event: "Tournaments like this can be very beneficial if we can learn from them. This is a talented group that has not played to its potential yet, so we will hope to learn from this and start preparing for Notre Dame in a couple of days. We look forward to moving on and getting better."
Up next: South is off until action tees off at Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Classic on Sunday, Oct. 7.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. 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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