The Georgia Southern men's golf team fired a final-round 285 to charge up the leaderboard on the final day of the Sun Belt Championship, but fell just short of making the top four to advance to match play at Annandale Golf Club. Led by a top-10 finish from Parker Claxton, the Eagles concluded play at +18 for the three rounds to place seventh.
In Monday's opening round, freshman Brycen Jones led the Eagles with a 74 which put him in a tie for 15th place. The highlight of his round was an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. Parker Claxton (75), Reece Coleman and Brantley Baker (76) rounded out the team scoring.
In Tuesday's second round, the Eagles started on the 10th hole and shot five shots better as a team on the day. The squad made some ground back on the par-5 fifth hole, producing an eagle from Claxton, as well as birdies from Coleman, Jones and Baker to go -5 on the day at the hole. It marked the second straight day a GS player had picked up an eagle on the hole. Claxton led the way on the day with an even-par 72. He went -3 on the front 9 (last nine holes) to get back to even for the day. Hayden Carer shot a 74 and both Jones and Baker carded 75s to account for the team scoring for the day.
Sitting six shots out of the coveted fourth spot, the Eagles came out firing on the final day to get right back into the thick of things. Coleman posted a 32 (-4) on his first nine holes as the Eagles started on hole 10 once again. Coleman finished his opening nine holes with three birdies in the final four holes and the squad posted seven birdies and an eagle in that opening half. Georgia Southern got to within a shot of the cut line to make the four-team match play event thanks to an ace from Claxton, an eagle from Carner and back-to-back birdies from Coleman, but couldn't get any closer despite a valiant effort at the end.
Coleman led the squad in the final round with a 3-under 69, his fourth round in the 60s this season, as he carded six birdies. Claxton shot a 2-under 70 to finish a strong week and Jones and Carner (73) accounted for the team scoring. Three Eagles — Carner, Claxton and Jones — recorded eagles, including Claxton's ace on #2. It was the sophomore's second hole-in-one of the season. The team's 285 (-3) was tied for the third best among the 14 teams on Wednesday.
Georgia Southern finished second as a team in par-4 scoring and tied for sixth in par-5 scoring. The Eagles finished second with 176 pars and led the entire field with five eagles. Claxton played the par 3s at even par, tied for second-best in the tournament and Carner tied for the tournament lead with 40 pars. Jones recorded 37 pars, tied for the sixth most. Coleman led the squad with 10 birdies and Claxton and Jones both had two eagles to lead the field.
Words From Coach Carter Collins: "I'm very proud of this team. Our execution from 100 yards and in dug us a hole, but our hearts kept us in it. Today was awesome. This team fought tooth and nail until the final bell. I'm very proud to be their coach and cannot wait to see what's ahead. This is a special group!"
The Scores
Team: 301-296-285=882 (+18), 7
Parker Claxton: 75-72-70=217 (+1), T7
Reece Coleman: 76-76-69=221 (+5), T21
Brycen Jones: 74-75-73=222 (+6), T27
Hayden Carner: 78-74-73=225 (+9), T36
Brantley Baker: 76-75=211 (+8)
Hogan Ingram: 76=76 (+4)
