Mercer University
AutoTrader Collegiate Classic
Men's Golf Takes Third at AutoTrader Classic
10/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
DULUTH, Ga. – Mercer sophomore Trey Rule fired a 70 (-1) in Tuesday's final round of the AutoTrader Classic at Berkeley Hills Country Club to help the men's golf team to a third place finish on the team leaderboard. Junior James Beale took home the team's best individual finish, tying for eighth place overall with a three-round total of 216.
As a team, Mercer shot 289 on Tuesday to complete the tournament with a three-round total of 874. At the conclusion, the Bears were just eight strokes behind Georgia State for second place while Georgia Southern (859) captured the team title.
"Obviously to finish third is nice, we had a shot at second, but Georgia State just played slightly better than us over the last five holes," head coach Steve Bradley said. "Our guys have come a long way over the past six weeks. Trey's tie for 11th finish was his career-best, James had another top-10 finish and Hans played solid for the second-straight tournament."
Mercer's combined team score of 874 bested a pair of nationally ranked squads (No. 7 Georgia and No. 49 Chattanooga) and two Atlantic Sun Conference rivals (Kennesaw State and Jacksonville).
The Bears have now compiled three-straight top 10 finishes as a squad, placing tied for fifth in the Ram Masters Invitational on Sept. 18, sixth in the Brickyard Collegiate on Oct. 7 and now third in the AutoTrader Classic.
Rule's final round 70 combined with scores of 78 and 71 in the opening two rounds to place him tied for 11th overall. Junior Hans Reimers finished in a tie for 17th at the event with a three-round total of 220, while freshman Jeffrey Heinicka, Jr. used strokes 225 strokes and tied for 31st place.
Senior Thomas Holmes capped his tournament with a 79 on Tuesday and tied for 50th place at 229. His classmate, John Gregory Joseph, shot 76 on Tuesday and tied for 27th at 224.
"Overall I'm very happy with our play in this tournament and happy with the fall and how we've gotten better," Bradley said. "The guys have a competitive fire now and after we take a couple weeks off we will get right back after it to get ready for the spring."
Mercer is now finished with its fall schedule and will take a few months off before resuming play in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at the Sawgrass Country Club on Feb. 24, 2013.
Players Mentioned
