|
Commodores Second Behind Georgia State 9/28/2004
Commodores Second Behind Georgia State Georgia State blistered the Vanderbilt Legends Club Ironhorse Course for the third consecutive round, easily winning the fourth annual Mason Rudolph Championship in the process Tuesday. Photo Galleries – Day One | Day Two Round Three – Combined Results | Team Results | Individual Results Georgia State, 11th last year at the NCAA Championships, shot 21-under par for 54 holes to beat host Vanderbilt by 20 shots. Alabama rallied in its final round to place third in a 15-team field. Ty Harris, a senior at Georgia State, led wire-to-wire, establishing a tournament record with an 18-under par 195. The Tampa product shot seven-under 64 today after opening with 63-68. “I seem to always play well here,” Harris said. “I putted well during this tournament and holed a 90-yard sand wedge for an eagle on 15 today.” It was Harris’ first career victory after placing 12th two weeks ago at the University of Michigan. Vanderbilt Coach Press McPhaul was not all that disappointed with his team’s second place performance. “We were one of a handful of teams that had not played in a tournament yet this fall,” McPhaul said, noting the Commodores were rained out of the Carpet Capitol Classic two weeks ago by a hurricane. “That probably set us back in our efforts here. We fought hard and had a good finish but our team knows there is better golf in them.” Winning Georgia State Coach Matt Clark couldn’t hide his pleasure with his team’s performance. “This was one of the more exciting tournaments I’ve watched,” Clark beamed. “Yesterday all five of our guys were on their game, their ball striking was spectacular. I would see one of our guys make a short putt and he’d tell me ‘that was for birdie, coach’. It was that kind of tournament. “I can’t say enough about the play of Ty Harris,” Clark continued. “He simply put the team on his shoulders.” Jordan Dempsey of Ole Miss placed second individually, shooting rounds of 70-67-69. Dempsey had been fourth two weeks ago at the Southern Mississippi tournament. “I didn’t putt so well but I was hitting my driver straight and playing steady golf,” Dempsey said. “I red-shirted last year but my sophomore year I think I was eighth here and my junior year two seasons ago I was 10th. I like the course.” Commodore senior Mark Donnell, who played even par 213 and ended in a tie for 15th, also thought the team’s rainout in its scheduled opener took its toll. “Even the guys on our team who played a lot of summer golf haven’t played a competitive round for about a month,” Donnell said. “You’ve got to hand it to Georgia State for its great performance but we could have used a tournament to knock the rust off our games.” Both McPhaul and Donnell noted Vanderbilt freshman Brett Lange’s solid debut. The Atlanta freshman placed in a tie for fifth with a two-under par 211 effort. Sophomore Luke List added a one-under 70 Tuesday to his two-over score over the first 36 holes. Seniors Ben McClung and Lance Goodson shot 76 and 74 today. Round Two — Team Results | Individual Results At five-under-par, the Commodores are behind only Georgia State and Ole Miss. The GSU Panthers ended the day at 20-under-par and hold a 12-stroke lead over the Rebels. Georgia State’s Ty Harris tied a Championship record Monday by firing a first round 63 (eight-under-par). Harris, at 11-under, holds a six-stroke lead over teammate Darren Baynes and Ole Miss’ Jordan Dempsey. For Vanderbilt, freshman Brett Lange and senior Mark Donnell led the way on Day One. The two Commodores are tied in 10th place at two-under-par. Senior Ben McClung shot one-under-par for the day and stands in a tie for 19th place. Sophomore Luke List is tied for 35th at two-over, while senior Lance Goodson is in 42nd place at three-over. The third and final round of the fourth-annual Mason Rudolph Championship will begin Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 a.m. CT.Round One — Team Results | Individual Results |
