The KSU men’s golf team finished third at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship last week. The team finished with a score of 894 after 54 holes on the Legend at Chateau Elan golf course in Braselton, Ga.
As the Owls entered the third round of play on Wednesday, rain kept players off the field, delaying the start of round play two and half hours. The Owls looked to shoot an even or better to hang on for a shot at the championship. They turned in a 894 score to finish in third place.
“It was just a totally different day,” said KSU head coach Jay Moseley. “There were different conditions then the first two days. It got a little colder. We had a steady mist throughout the day and the wind blew a little more, but we just didn’t come out and play as well in that final round.”
Senior Matt Nagy led the Owls, finishing ninth overall and posting a score of 223. His top-10 finished came with back-to-back birdies in the final round. Nagy also finished in the top-10 at last year’s tournament, giving him his second consecutive top-10 finish in the conference championships.
“He’s stepped up really big,” Moseley said about Nagy. “It’s been more than his play but his leadership and the character he’s put forward. He’s taken the role as one of the guys that everybody looks up to.”
Many of the players for the Owls stepped up, and did what they could to give their team a boost. Sophomore Jonathan Klotz finished 13th behind Nagy after scoring 226. Ben Greene, who was the only member of the team coming off a first place finish at the previous tournament, finished 15th with a score of 227. Greene’s final two rounds kept the Owls from dropping to fourth place.
“It’ll be good for us to have a couple weeks off to get some guys back healthy and just have some time to refresh and regroup.” Moseley said.
North Florida held on to capture the tournament title with a score of 875, finishing ahead of East Tennessee State and KSU. UNF will represent the Atlantic Sun as conference champions at the regional tournament.
“We knew being ten shots behind those guys, it was going to be hard to catch them because they are such a great team,” Moseley said. “Our guys know that anything can happen. We just went out and focused on what we could do.”
The Owls will take a break until May 17-19, when they compete in the Men’s 74 Annual Regional Championships. The destination of where the team will compete will be determined based on their final season ranking.
“Its hard to prepare, not knowing where you are going to play until the week before but it doesn’t take a lot for a team to get excited and get up for regional competition,” Moseley said. “Post season is what these guys look forward too all year. Between now and then, we’re just look at doing the right things and preparing the right way. We look forward to going out and playing as hard as we can.”
For updates on the Regional, you can follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlsMensGolf.
