USC Aiken Wins Aflac/Cougar Invite; AASU 5th in Division I Field in Savannah

USC Aiken fired a team tournament low 7-under 277 on Tuesday to win by three shots over Florida Southern in the 17-team 2008 Aflac/Cougar Invitational held at the Country Club of Columbus. Meanwhile, Armstrong Atlantic State finished fifth of 13 teams at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate.

In Columbus, host Columbus State stumbled to a final round 290 (+6) to finish in third
place. Fla. Southern's Jude Eustaquio won the individual title with a two-round total of 135 (68-67) to win by three shots over USCA's Roberto Diaz (71-67) and Lynn's Marcus Williams (69-69).

USCA (292-277) trailed by eight shots to CSU at the start of play on Tuesday, but the Pacers got three sub-par rounds from Justin Thompson (66), Diaz (67), and J.P. Solis (70) to overtake the Cougars midway through the final round. Thompson rebounded from an 82 on Monday to post the tournament low round and the third-lowest round in the PBC this year. FSC (289-283) got solid rounds from Eustaquio (67) and Matt Stauch (70) to help the Mocs leap frog CSU for second place.

CSU's Steven Paine recorded his second straight 1-under par 70 to finish in fourth place at 140. JP van der Walt was solid around the 6515-yard tract on Tuesday with his own 70. van der Walt finished tied for eight place at 143 (73-70) for his personal best two-round total in a CSU uniform. Andrew Georgiou faltered on the back nine and closed with a 3-over 74 to finish tied for 11th at 144 (70-74). Kyle Albright was five-over par after three holes and closed with a disappointing 76 to finish tied for 27th at 147 (71-76). Michael Hicks failed to make a birdie on Tuesday and finished tied for 41st at 149 (73-76).

Lander finished fourth in the field led by Charlie Hoyle's final round three-under-par 68. Hoyle led Lander with an even-par 142 (74-68) which tied him for sixth place. Bryan Newton tied for eighth with a 143 (73-70), Seb Brown tied for 27th with 147 (73-74), Billy Belair tied for 41st with 149 (77-72), and Roberto Nasalli-Rocca tied for 48th with 150 (72-78).

GCSU finished sixth in the field after a disappointing 296 in the final round. The Bobcats had a trio of top-20 finishers, getting junior Niclas Johansson in 11th and both Pedro C. Lima and Joe Young at 19th. Johansson (72-72=104) was the only Bobcat to improve his position in day two, he finished at two-over. Lima carded a 72-74=146 at four-over par, while Young joined him there at the exact same score.

Junior Francisco Bide carded a 71-76=147 for 27th place, while sophomore Billy Shida was 71st (77-78=155).
Georgia Southwestern finished ninth as Adam McKenney shot 69-73=142 to finish tied for sixth. Clayton State was tied for 10th as Will Wilcox went 71-75=146. UNC Pembroke rounded out the PBC participants in 15th place as Jordan Walor shot 72-72=144 to finish tied for 11th.

In Savannah, the Armstrong Atlantic State men's golf team shot a final-round 297 on Tuesday and moved up one place to finish fifth at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate, co-hosted by the Pirates and Georgia Southern University.

The co-host Eagles captured the team title by one stroke, shooting a 295 on Tuesday to finish the tournament with an 865 total. Furman finished second, firing a final-round 291 to finish with an 866 total. Kennesaw State (870) and Francis Marion (888) finished third and fourth, respectively, ahead of the Pirates (895) - the only DII team in the field.

Junior Chris Wolfe collected his third Top 10 finish of the season by firing an even-par 72 on Tuesday and finishing tied for third place with a one-under-par 215 score. The All-American has finished in the top 10 in his last six events, dating back to last season, and has finished in the top 10 in eight of his last 10 tournaments.

Freshman Matthew Motes shot a two-over-par 74 on Tuesday to finish tied for 13th individually with a five-over-par 221 total. Junior Jon Wingate, meanwhile, carded the day's best round among the field with a four-under-par 68, enabling him to finish tied for 15th individually with a six-over-par 222 total.

Freshman Dustin Allen shot an 83 on Tuesday and finished tied for 65th individually with a 240 total, while sophomore David Patterson also shot an 83 and finished tied for 67th with a 241 total.

AFLAC Cougar Intercollegiate Results

Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate Results