Mercer University
Kiawah Invitational
Men's Golf Places 13th at Kiawah Invitational
9/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Mercer men's golf team battled through extreme conditions to post a team score of 315 in Tuesday's final round of the 2012 Kiawah Invitational at The Ocean Course. Mercer's 315 combined with scores of 319 and 300 on the first two days to place the team 13th overall.
Mercer's 934 was just one stroke behind Georgia Southern and St. John's on the leaderboard and one stroke ahead of South Carolina-Aiken. Florida captured the team title with an 882, while Texas-Arlington (906), Houston (912), the College of Charleston (913) and South Florida (917) rounded out the top five.
"I'm obviously disappointed at the way we finished today," Mercer head coach Steve Bradley said. "We played really well on the front nine, but today's conditions made it long and tough. These were the most difficult scoring conditions I've seen in college golf, as evidenced by today's average round being more than 80."
Freshman Jeffrey Heinicka collected Mercer's best individual finish, trying for 21st place overall. Heinicka's 77 on Tuesday was the team's best effort, bringing his tournament total to 231.
Sophomore Trey Rule needed 82 strokes on Tuesday and tied for 35th place individually at 235. Freshman Oliver Vaidis and junior Hans Reimers each shot 79 in the final round, ending their tournaments at 236 and 239. Vaidis tied for 39th overall while Reimers tied for 54th place.
Junior James Beale tied for 65th place on the individual leaderboard with a three-day total of 241. His 80 on Tuesday marked his best round at the event. Senior Thomas Holmes rounded out Mercer's competitors with an 83 on Tuesday to tie for 83rd place.
"I'm happy the freshmen contributed, but we've got to have a short memory to turn around and have a good showing at the Colorado State tournament next week."
Mercer begins play at the Ram Masters Invitational on September 17. The two-day event is hosted by Colorado State at Fort Collins Country Club in Fort Collins, Colorado.
