February 1, 2011

Men’s Golf Takes Eighth at JU Invitational

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PONTE VERDA BEACH, Fla. – On Tuesday, the Mercer men’s golf team recorded a cumulative score of 306 in the final round of the Jacksonville Invitational at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course.  Junior Stefan Labuschagne fired a team best 72 to help the Bears to an eighth place finish.

Mercer compiled a three-round total of 904, just two strokes behind No. 43 East Carolina for seventh place.  Of the seven teams that outpaced Mercer, five are ranked in the nation’s top-50 by Golfstat.com. 

“We were in position to beat some premier programs, but we let it slip away with 10 or 11 holes to go," Mercer head coach Andrew Tredway said.  "Overall, we saw some positive things out of some of the guys, but this shows us there is still plenty of work left to do and with our depth, we need to find the right mix of players for the next event."

No. 1 Florida captured the invitational’s title after posting a three-round total of 858, 25 strokes ahead of second place North Florida.  Jacksonville State and No. 43 Liberty both booked scores of 886 and tied for third place.

No. 40 Clemson (888), No. 21 Wake Forest (894) placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Labuschagne’s even-par final round came with its share of ups and downs, as the Pretoria, South Africa native had three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey on Tuesday.  Labuschagne’s final round 72 came in conjunction with a 78 and a 76 in the opening two rounds and placed the golfer tied for 24^th individually.

After a dazzling first two rounds of the event, redshirt freshman Hans Reimers struggled Tuesday, needing 81 strokes to complete the final 18 holes.  Reimers entered the final round tied for tenth individually, but slipped to a share of 28^th place with a three-round total of 227.

 Redshirt sophomore John Gregory Joseph shot back-to-back 77’s on Monday and improved upon those totals by three strokes in the final round.  Joseph’s 74 on Tuesday placed the Valdosta, Ga. native tied for 32^nd among the 75-golfer field.

Also tying for 35^th place individually was junior Josh Cone, who carded an 80 in the final round of competition.  Cone’s 80 paired with a first round 78 and a second round 70 to slot him aside Joseph and Georgia State’s Brent Paul.

Freshman Mookie DeMoss also shot 80, finishing tied for 45^th place individually.  DeMoss collected scores of 74, 78 and 80 his three rounds of play.

Mercer returns to action at the Frito Lay Intercollegiate on Feb. 20-21.  That tournament will be held at the Dancing Rabbit Golf Course in Philadelphia, Miss.