University Star

The golf team couldn’t swing their way up the leaderboard after the team got a slow start through the second round of The Ocean Course invitational, finishing eighth.

This was the season opener for the men, after the women placed first at the Chris Banister Classic in Huntsville, Ala. The Ocean Course hosted the 2012 PGA Championship won by Rory McIlroy, currently No. 1 in the world.

Coach Shane Howell’s team consisted of red-shirt senior Luis Thiele, juniors Stuart Smallwood and Juan Diego Plasencia, sophomore Juan Carlos Benitez, and freshmen Justin Newby and Scott Tredo.

For the first round, Thiele highlighted the Bobcats by shooting an opening round of 73. Thiele’s score of one over par placed him in a tie for fifth for individual performance. The first day at the Invitational concluded with the Bobcats shooting 308 collectively in the first 18 holes.

Smallwood improved on day two by shooting two over par, 74, in the second round, giving him the low round of the day for Texas State. Smallwood and teammate Benitez finished tied for 27th at nine over par through the first two rounds of play for individual performance. Benitez’s score rose by one stroke, shooting a 76.

The Bobcats improved from the opening round, firing a 307 as a team Monday afternoon.

The Ocean Course invitational ended with the Bobcats shooting 23 over par for the final day and 62 over par for the entirety of the tournament for a total score of 926.

The team showed confidence as Benitez finished strong and saved his best round for last, shooting two over par, placing him 12th on the individual leader board. Thiele had an unsteady second round with ten over. However, he shot four over par to conclude the final round of The Ocean Course, which placed him at a tie for 21st.

Florida State came in first with a total score of 882 and finished 18 over par, UT Arlington finished second with 906, Houston finished third with 912 and the host, College of Charleston, missed out on the top three by one stroke, shooting a total of 913.

The top individual performance went to Scott Wolfes of Georgia Southern, shooting a total score of 220. However, Florida stole the headlines with four players in the top five standings.

The Men’s Golf team will return to action Sept. 24 and 25 when it heads out to Boulder, Colo. for the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.