Parker Claxton won medalist honors, and five Eagles finished in the top-25 at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate, which concluded Tuesday at the Georgia Southern University Golf Course.
Claxton, playing in his second collegiate tournament, fired 69-66 in Sunday's first two rounds to open four-shot lead heading into the final round. The freshman carded a 72 today without losing a stroke and finished with a 207 (-9). Mississippi State's Pedro Cruz Silva (-5) placed second.
Colin Bowles (+2) fired a two-under 70 today and tied for 11th, and Luke Koenig (+4) tied for 17th. Hayden Carner (+6) and Hogan Ingram (+6) tied for 25th.
Claxton is the fourth Eagle to win the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate (formerly the GS Individual Collegiate), which began in 2017. Jake Storey won the inaugural tournament and tied for first the following year. Jake Maples won in 2020, and Mason Williams won last year.
GS Results
Parker Claxton – 69-66-72 = 207 (-9)
Colin Bowles – 75-73-70 = 218 (+2)
Luke Koenig – 75-70-75 = 220 (+4)
Hayden Carner – 74-77-71 = 222 (+6)
Hogan Ingram – 72-75-75 = 222 (+6)
Brantley Baker – 75-73-76 = 224 (+8)
Lindsey Cordell – 79-73-76 = 228 (+12)
Luke Dasher – 79-77-77 = 233 (+17)
Previous winners:
2017 – Jake Storey (Georgia Southern)
2018 – Jake Storey (Georgia Southern), Wilson Furr (Alabama)
2019 - Steven DiLisio (Duke)
2020 – Jake Maples (Georgia Southern)
2021 – Dawson Peters (USC Beaufort)
2022 – Mason Williams (Georgia Southern)
2023 – Parker Claxton (Georgia Southern)
Quotables from Parker Claxton
On the week
"I got a lot of good experience this week, and I'm excited for the rest of the spring."
On playing with the lead
"I just stuck to my game plan - hit the fairway, hit the middle of the green and get out of there with a par."
On playing in front of the hometown crowd
"It's nice to have a lot of people out watching. It calms me down and lets me go out there and play. I've played here a lot, and I'm really comfortable out here."
Quotables from Coach Carter Collins
On the week
"We'll leave here with some stuff to work on, but we can also take a lot of confidence. Each person had great stretches, great rounds, and that's what this tournament is all about. It's the first one coming off a long break from the fall. We haven't competed since the first week in October, so a lot of the guys were knocking off some competitive rust, and this will be a huge jumpstart for us this spring."
On Parker
"I'm very proud of Parker. He looked like a seasoned professional out there today. He knew he had a big lead, he knew how he needed to play and for him to go out and execute the way he did was extremely impressive."
Next Up
The Eagles play their first team competition of the spring at the Gator Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course Feb. 11-12. It will be Georgia Southern's 22nd consecutive appearance in the event.
