Barry Finishes Strong to Take Aflac / Cougar Invitational Title
Columbus, GA - Barry University found the Green
Island Country Club layout to its liking on Tuesday in the final
round of the Aflac / Cougar Invitational and ran away from the
field for a 10-shot win over second-place North Alabama. The
Buccaneers fired a final round 280 (-4), led by a lights-out
66 from Victor Billskoog to breeze to the win.
In addition to Billskoog's 66, Barry got rounds of 70 from Carlos
Velez , 71 from Guillermo Pumarol and 73s from Daniel Stapf
and Chris Carlin. Billskoog and Velez (140, -2) tied for
fourth place in the individual standings, while Carlin (141, -1)
tied for 6th and Stapf (144, +2) for 24th position.
Georgia Southwestern's Craig Gibson followed a 72 in Monday's
opening round with the tournament's low round on Tuesday - a 65
(-6) to claim the individual title. Gibson was one of 15 golfers to
post under-par rounds on Tuesday. Billskoog's 66 was matched by
Florida Southern's Danny Evelyn. Valdosta State's Chesley Gunn shot
67, GCSU's Joe Young 68, and rounds of 69 were turned in by
Lander's Seb Brown and Barton's Thomas Muto, Jr.
North Alabama, the first round leaders, struggled a bit on Tuesday
but still kept their round in tact to finish second at 571. The
Lions shot 291 (+7) in the final round and were led individually by
Brett Munson (72) and Ty Chandler (73). That duo finished in the
group tied for sixth in the individual standings at 141 (-1).
Barton finished third at 572, followed by Valdosta State and Lander
tied for fourth at 575. GCSU (579) was sixth, followed by West
Florida, Delta State, and Lynn (580) tied for seventh. Nova
Southeastern, Florida Southern and Georgia Southwestern (581) tied
for 10th, while Clayton State (583) was 13th, Newberry (584) 14th,
and host Columbus State (586) 15th.
West Georgia (16, 587), Armstrong Atlantic State (17, 588), Florida
Tech (18, 589), Carson-Newman (19, 591), UNC Pembroke (20, 595),
and Catawba (21, 605) rounded out the field.
For the Cougars, a disappointing finish put a damper on what had
been a very good round. The Cougars had climbed to as high as fifth
in the team standings midway through the round, but faltered badly
on the last five holes to post their 291. Stephen Swanepoel posted
the best round of the day for the Cougars, a one-under 70. That
finish was good enough for a tie for 16th individually. Steven
Paine posted a second-straight 72 to finish tied for 25th position,
while Jeremy Britt followed Monday's 73 with a 77 to finish tied
for 74th. Michael Lee (74, T77) and Michael Hicks (75, T84) rounded
out the Cougar lineup.
CSU returns to action on October 19-20 at the Indian Bayou Classic
in Destin, FL.
