GCSU's Solid Final Round Earns PBC Men's Golf Title for Bobcats

Pine Mountain, Ga. -- Georgia College and State University counted four rounds of 74 or better by its team members on Tuesday to shoot a final-round 293 and win the 2010 Peach Belt Conference Men's Golf Championship by eight shots over second-place USC Aiken. Armstrong Atlantic State was third, Columbus State fourth, and UNC Pembroke fifth in the event.

UNCP's Jordan Walor and GCSU's Niclas Johansson battled it out for most of the final round with both players carding even-par 72 scores on Tuesday. The difference was Walor's opening-round 70 on Tuesday as he defeated Johansson by two shots. USC Aiken's Frederik Schulte shot a final-round 75 to finish third, while Parker Gordon of AASU and Ben Kishigian of Columbus State finished tied for fourth. Gordon, the day one leader, slipped to a 79 on Tuesday, while Kishigian shot the Cougars' best round with a 73.

USC Aiken equaled GCSU's final-round total of 293 on Tuesday to fight its way into second place. The Pacers got a 71 from Gaines Milliner and rounds of 74 from Kevin Grady, Grant Carnie, and Justin Thompson, in addition to Shulte's 75.  Grady and Carnie tied for eighth, while Thompson tied for 16th and Milliner tied for 31st. 

AASU led for almost the entire front nine after finishing day one as the tournament leader. The Pirates, however, started to lose strokes on the back nine and ended up shooting a team total of 312 on Tuesday to slip to third. Rounds of 78 from Jacob Tilton and Tyler Erickson, each of whom finished tied for 13th, were the top rounds for the Pirates. Gordon shot 79, while Ridge Purcell slipped to an 81 to finish tied for 31st, and Matthew Motes shot a 77 to finish 35th. 

Kishigian followed a second-round 72 with a 73 on Tuesday and played himself into the top five for CSU. Stephen Swanepoel finished with a 77 to finish tied for eighth with teammate Justin Grice (74). Steven Paine shot a 78 to tie for 41st and Michael Hicks ballooned to an 85 to finish in 50th position.

Montevallo, Lander, Clayton State, Flagler, Georgia Southwestern, and North Georgia rounded out the teams on Tuesday.

While GCSU earned an automatic berth into the regional with the win, a number of other PBC teams will now await word later this month on whether they will receive a berth to the NCAA regional in Wilson, N.C.