Palm Beach, Fla. – The Stetson men's golf team turned in a solid final round of play at the Southern Invitational, but the Hatters were unable to make up any ground and finished tied for seventh place in the 12-team tournament.
The Hatters posted a final round score of 294 to finish the two-day tournament with a 24-over par score of 888, tied with Drake.
"We played OK today," Hatters' coach
Larry Watson said. "The pins were really hard and it was tough to make putts. We just didn't make enough putts. I think we were a little tired today because it was so hot and humid on Monday. Now we will have to see if we can bounce back quickly because we leave tomorrow for the next event."
Middle Tennessee State left no opportunity for any of the other teams in the field. The Blue Raider closed the tournament with a 271, the best round of the event, and won by nine shots over VCU.
Campbell's Pontus Nyholm edged past day one leader Peter Gasperini of VCU thanks to a near-perfect round of 64. Nyholm had nine birdies and one bogey on the day, finishing with a nine-under par score of 207. Gasperini posted a 68 to finish one shot behind in second place.
Stetson graduate transfer
Nick Montes, who came into the final round tied for eighth, was never able to get his game going on Tuesday. He opened with a bogey on the 10
th hole and followed with three pars before consecutive birdies got him to one-under. He finished the back nine with three straight bogeys and was two-over at the turn.
He made a birdie on the first hole to open the final stretch, but alternated bogeys and pars until sinking a birdie putt on the eighth hole. He finished with a double-bogey on his final hole for a 77, dropping him into a tie for 28
th place.
Sophomore
Mason Quagliata had the best round of the day for Stetson, posting a one-under par 71. He finished the tournament with a seven-over par score of 223 to tie for 34
th, one shot behind junior
Benjamin Resnick, who had a final round 74 and finished 33
rd.
Freshman
Truman Keppy closed with a 76 to finish tied for 44
th and sophomore
Bradley Goldstein bounced back with a 73 in the final round. The other Stetson freshman in the event,
Matthew Cooper, posted an 80 in the final round.
After getting a night at home, the Hatters will be up early for Covid testing Wednesday morning before driving to St. Simon's Island, Ga., where they will play a practice round tomorrow afternoon in advance of the Sea Palms Invitational.
The tournament, which is being hosted by Western Carolina, will begin on Thursday morning with single rounds Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tee times for Stetson are scheduled for 8:15 a.m. on Thursday and 9:30 a.m. on Friday. Saturday's tee times will be determined by standings going into the final round.
Live scoring for the tournament will be available at Golfstat.com.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
