GREENSBORO — The Georgia men’s golf team finished second for the third consecutive tournament on Tuesday as play concluded in the 13th annual Linger Longer Invitational.
The Bulldogs landed at 22-under 842 at Reynolds Lake Oconee on the Great Waters course (par-72, 7,073 yards), just two shots behind Alabama’s 844. Georgia closed with a 4-under 284 on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs also placed second in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in February and the Southern Intercollegiates earlier this month.
“Make no mistake, our goal everytime we tee it up is to win,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “But it’s hard to be disappointed when your team shoots 22-under and has two of the top three individuals. That would be hard to beat most weeks. This tournament was good for us, being in a back-and-forth situation with Alabama trying to win. This will certainly help us moving forward. We have plenty of positives to build on, but since we were so close and did not win, that will shine a light on the things we need to do better. As this tournament showed, every shot matters.”
Sophomore Spencer Ralston paced the Bulldogs on Tuesday as he shot a 5-under 67. Senior Zach Healy signed for a 1-under 71, followed by sophomore Trevor Phillips at even-par 72 and freshman Davis Thompson at 2-over 74. Freshman John Hilliard Catanzaro had the Bulldogs’ toss-out score of 6-over 78.
Ralston, a Gainesville High graduate, finished second individually at 12-under 204, two strokes shy of Alabama’s Lee Hodges (202). The 12-under figure set a new tournament low for Ralston and he matched his career-best individual finish. Thompson, the 36-hole leader, wound up third at 10-under 206, also setting his career-best tournament total. Phillips took 13th at 2-under 214, Healy came in at 2-over 218 and Catanzaro finished at 20-over 236.
Playing as individuals on Tuesday, sophomore Will Chandler signed for a 1-over 73, junior David Mackey had a 4-over 76 and junior Jack Larkin Jr. posted a 7-over 79. That pushed Chandler to 2-over 218, Mackey to 3-over 219 and Larkin to 12-over 228.
The Bulldogs will return to action April 13-15 in the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/3/650439/ralston-dogs-charge-to-second-place-at-linger-longer-invitational