ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA – The Wright State golf team posted a 10-under group 274 score on Saturday as the Raiders stormed back to capture the team title at the Sea Palms Invitational.
The Raiders were one of a handful of teams to complete two rounds on Friday and went to sleep sitting in seventh place with 11 teams having to complete their second rounds Saturday morning before the final 18 holes got underway. By the time Wright State hit the course Saturday, the Raiders were officially in fourth place as a team at 24-over before posting the 274 team score, the lowest of the tournament, to climb the leaderboard and take the title.
Individually, the Raiders had three players finish inside the top 15, paced by
Tyler Goecke, who finished in a tie for third at two-under as he climbed 10 spots on the leaderboard with a 65 on Saturday, the lowest round of the tournament from the over 100 participants in the field. Goecke carded eight birdies over his final 18 holes, including a stretch of five straight holes on the front nine, which were his final holes of the weekend after beginning Saturday on the back nine.
Cole Corder played an even par 71 on Saturday to finish in eighth, following a round that saw him tally six birdies but also a pair of double bogeys to even out his scorecard.
Bryce Haney was the final Raider in the top 15, finishing in a tie for 13th at six-over for the tournament after he played a three-under 68 on Saturday to jump 27 spots thanks to an eagle and a pair of birdies.
Mikkel Mathiesen was tied for 24th at eight-over for the tournament after moving up 16 spots behind his one-under 70 final round. Mathiesen tallied four birdies, including both of his final two holes, but also added a trio of bogeys to balance out the scorecard.
Davis Root rounded out the Raider lineup in a tie for 47th at 13-over for the weekend, but jumped 18 spots on the leaderboard following his one-over 72 on Saturday that saw him recover from a pair of bogeys and a double bogey in his opening nine holes with a trio of birdies as he closed out his round.
As a group, Wright State led the 19-team field with 48 birdies while also adding 159 pars over the three rounds and a pair of eagles, one from Goecke in the first round and Haney's on Saturday. The Raiders were a combined 13-under as a group on par fives over the three rounds, the best in the field, while their 3.20 scoring average on par three holes also led the field and their 4.19 scoring average on par four holes was just off the best of the field.
Wright State now returns home and takes a breather for a couple weeks before heading back south for the Seahawk Intercollegiate on March 27 and 28 in coastal North Carolina.
