PLACIDA, Fla. – After firing off both single-round and tournament season-lows while taking home his first career victory, Mathias Lorentzen led the University of South Alabama men's golf team to a third-place finish at the Coral Creek Club Invitational on Tuesday.

Lorentzen earned his first career victory while recording both round (67) and tournament (205) season-lows. The Jaguars recorded their lowest tournament score (851) and their highest placement (3) of the spring season while finishing ahead of three top-50 programs and a top-20 program— No. 18 Texas A&M, No. 27 South Florida, No. 40 Kent State and No. 47 Liberty.   

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Coral Creek Club Invitational (FGCU)
Dates: 2/28 - 3/1 (Monday-Tuesday)
Course: Coral Creek Club (par 71, 7,143 yds)
Final results

TEAM SCORES
1) FGCU 272-283-283—838 (-14); 2) No. 38 North Florida 285-286-279—850 (-2); 3) South Alabama 283-284-284—851 (-1); 4) No. 47 Liberty 282-284-286—852 (E); 5) UCF 285-289-289—863 (+11); 6) No. 27 South Florida 289-290-285—864 (+12); 7) Cincinnati 291-289-285—865 (+13); T8) No. 40 Kent State 285-292-289—866 (+14); T8) No. 18 Texas A&M 289-290-287—866 (+14); T8) Toledo 283-295-288—866 (+14); 11) Memphis 286-288-293—867 (+15); 12) Jacksonville 294-297-279—870 (+18); 13) Lipscomb 302-289-284—875 (+23); 14) North Texas 287-286-306—879 (+27); 15) Illinois State 298-290-296—884 (+32); 16) Kennesaw State 309-308-296—913 (+61)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Mathias Lorentzen, South Alabama 67-70-68—205 (-8); 2) Austin Cherichella, FGCU 68-71-68—207 (-6); T3) Jon Hopkins, FGCU 68-69-71—208 (-5); T3) Vicente Matzilio, North Texas 68-67-73—208 (-5); T3) Johnny Travale, UCF 69-69-70—208 (-5)

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
1) Mathias Lorentzen 67-70-68—205 (-8); T10) Jordan Plunkett 73-69-70—212 (-1); T12) Jacob LeCroy 70-72-71—213; T51) Jack Hearn 73-73-75—221; T75) Dawson Atkinson 74-79-76—229

TEE SHOTS
- Lorentzen claimed his first career victory as a Jaguar at the event.  
- Lorentzen also recorded a season-low 4-under par 67 and posted his lowest three-round score (205).
- Plunkett shot a season-low three-round score of 212.
- The third-place finish is the highest for the Jaguars this season. 
- The Jags had 44 birdies, the third most at the tournament. 
- Lorentzen finished third in par 3 scoring with a 2-under par average of 2.83 strokes. Hearn played par 3s at 1-under par with an average of 2.92 strokes.
- Lorentzen and Plunkett placed second and third, respectively, in par 4 scoring with a 1-under par average of 3.97 strokes.
- Lorentzen played par 5s at 5-under par with an average of 4.44 strokes. 
- LeCroy and Plunkett each played par 5s at 3-under par.
- LeCroy also had the second-most birdies (13) at the tournament.
- Lorentzen carded 12 birdies and an eagle in the tournament to lead the Jags.
- USA carded its lowest tournament score (851) this season at the event.  


THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On the event: "It was a very good week for us, to see the team respond after we played at the home event is a great sign. This team is focused and talented— they're buying in, getting better every day and I think that is certainly a positive in terms of what they're capable of, because of their talent and commitment. With that, we've got to continue to get better every day and get ready for Auburn next week."

On Mathias Lorentzen: "Mathias Lorentzen had a great week. During the off season he put in a ton of work on his golf swing and has worked his way back from where he was pre-COVID. He has stayed positive the entire time, persevered and all the things you ask of a player, he has done. He got some big momentum finishing T13 at the home event a couple weeks back and played well again at home prior to this event. When he got to the tournament, the golf course fit him and he was hitting quality shots, he had good control of his golf ball and that was putting him in a position to win. He was taking advantage of those quality shots he was hitting to pick up a huge win. His experience and senior leadership helped him remain comfortable and present, which allowed him to control his game more. There were a lot of very good players in this field and it's a testament to Mathias as a player. From a coaching standpoint I couldn't be happier for him, when somebody puts forth the effort and is rewarded, that's the best." 

Mathias Lorentzen
On his victory: "I was impressed by myself with how patient I had become on the golf course and how much more I stayed in the present. That's something that Coach [Ben] Hannan and I worked on when I got here, because that used to be something I struggled with, but with a lot of work with Coach Hannan and everyone at South it got a lot better."

On the event: "It was an amazing week, because we had good chemistry as a team. We knew we had each other's back and we were going to play for each other. We're always trying to play to our top level of talent that Coach Hannan believes we have. After our practice round, the chemistry just kept going and it was great. When we went to the tournament, we were fully focused and I think our whole team did a great job of battling throughout the 54-hole tournament and we started to play to our full potential."

Up next: South Alabama will play in the Tiger Invitational hosted by Auburn in Opelika, Ala., on Sunday.

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.

—USA—