UNCP's Walor Wins Laker Collegiate; Seven PBC Teams Have Top-Five Finishes

UNC Pembroke's Jordan Walor shot a five-under-par 211 to win the State Farm Laker Collegiate hosted by Clayton State on Tuesday, his first career tournament title. His performace was the highlight of a very busy and very successful day in Peach Belt Conference golf. At the Laker Collegiate, four PBC teams finished in the top five and all five finished in the top half of the field. Meanwhile, more than 3,000 miles away, USC Aiken and Columbus State both turned in top-five finishes at the 20-team Division II National Championships Preview in Blaine, Washington.

Walor, a freshman, won his first collegiate tournament at the Laker Collegiate Classic held at the Crystal Lake Golf and Country Club on Monday and Tuesday, posting rounds of 70, 69 and 72 at the par-72, 7,202-yard course.

The Braves finished second as a team posting rounds of 297, 284 and 289 for a combined 870, six strokes behind first place West Florida (285, 286, 293). Matt Morrison also had a top-10 finish for UNCP, carding 74, 74 and 68 over three rounds to tie for eighth place with a 216.

Walor’s individual title is the first tournament title for a UNCP golfer since 2005 when Rex Willoughby won the Pfeiffer Shootout.

Matthew Montford finished tied for 24th posting a 74, 71 and 75 for a 220. Aleem Rahman (79, 72, 74) and Jonathan McCurry (79, 72, 77) tied for 46th and 60th, respectively.

Host Clayton State was tied for third with GCSU at 871. Freshman Jordan Tyler Massey made a strong showing in his first full collegiate tournament for the Lakers. He finished tied for fifth overall with a 1-under 215 (71-74-70), four strokes off the lead. Junior Wade Binfield finished tied for eighth at even-par 216 (73-70-73), while senior Jonathan Visconti, playing as an individual, placed tied for 13th at 2-over 217 (74-71-73). Sophomore Kevin Duncan, another individual player, finished tied for 19th at 3-over 219 (66-74-79). In rounding out the team scoring for the Lakers, senior two-time All-American Will Wilcox finished tied for 29th at 5-over 221 (73-74-74), while senior Neil McBride and junior Neil Thomas both finished tied for 46th with a 225.

Powered by sophomore Joe Young’s third-place finish, the No. 4 Georgia College & State University golf team tied for third place with the Lakers with a three-round 871 (295-282-294).

Young rebounded from a first-round 77, posting a pair of 68s for a three-round 213 and three-under par. Junior Niclas Johansson’s (Skanor, Sweden) 217 was good for 11th, his third top-20 finish in as many tournaments.

Junior Pedro C. Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore Billy Shida (Berkeley Lake, Ga.) entered the final round tied, and remained that way. Lima carded a 75-70-76=221, while Shida’s 74-71-76 earned them both the 29th slot. Junior Francisco Bide (Buenos Aires, Argentina/El Diamante (Calif.)) followed up a pair of 76s with an 80 for a three-round 232 and 70th place.

Out in Washington, Columbus State and USC Aiken played in the Division II Preview on the course that will host the national championship tournament next May.

The Cougars posted rounds of 293 and 285 to finish in fourth place at the event held at the 6,995-yard Loomis Trail Golf and Country Club. Central Oklahoma, which trailed by 11 shots after round one and by five shots following the second round, shot a 4-under par 280 closing round to win by four shots over Sonoma State and Hawaii-Hilo. USC Aiken finished two shots back of CSU to finish in fifth place. Chico State posted a final round 288 to finish in sixth place. Medalist honors went to Colorado Springs' Tyler Bishop as he finished at 5-under 208 (68-70-70) to win by two shots over Central Oklahoma's Andrew Green (75-67-68) and Washburn's Matt Ewald (70-70-70).

Round two of the tournament had to be completed Tuesday morning after being suspended by darkness and proved to be pivotal in CSU's fourth place finish. The Cougars shot a team total 293 and were led by Andrew Georgiou's second round 72. Steven Paine and Kyle Albright each carded 73s and JP van der Walt finished with a 75. Michael Hicks, who opened with a 1-under par 70 yesterday, posted a 78 as CSU trailed Nova by seven shots heading into the final round.

CSU mounted a final round charge and were 3-under at one point on the back nine, but costly errors forced the Cougars to post a 1-over 285. Georgiou, who finished tied for sixth, was solid again with a 71 to finish at even-par 213. Hicks rebounded with a 72 in the afternoon to finish tied for 31st with teammates JP van der Walt (69) and Steven Paine (73) at 220. Albright closed with a 75 to finish tied for 46th at 222.

USC Aiken were led by Roberto Diaz's fifth place finish after shooting 71-73-68 for 212. J.P. Solis was in ninth with a 214 while Kevin Grady was tied for 50th and Ashley Smith and Matt Giftos were tied at 57th. The Pacers stumbled out of the gate to start the tournament with a 295, but rallied to shoot a 285 in the final round. The Pacers made up two spots on the final day to finish in fifth.