Site: Eatonton, Ga.
Course: Great Waters Golf Course (Par 72, 7,436 yards)
Tournament: Linger Longer Invitational
HPU Team Standing: 6th of 16 teams (287-302-285-874, +10)
Top HPU Individual: Brandon Einstein, T-9th (72-72-69-213, -3)
Next HPU Round: Friday, March 26 — at Furman Intercollegiate (Greenville, S.C.)
EATONTON, Ga. – The High Point University men’s golf team had its best round of the tournament and the fifth-best round of the day in the final 18 holes at the Linger Longer Invitational on Sunday (March 14). The Panthers shot three-under as a team and climbed four spots to a sixth-place finish, the second-best climb of any team in the tournament on the final day.
“The fight this team showed today is exactly why I know we can do something special this spring,” head coach Brady Gregor said after the round. “They made a charge and dug themselves out of a hole we should have never been in going into the final round. This was a great field and I hope this gave the guys some confidence that they can go out and compete anywhere we tee it up. Roll Point!”
Redshirt sophomore Brandon Einstein led the Panthers with a final-round 69 to finish in a share of ninth place – his fourth top-10 finish this season in six events. Einstein got off to a hot start on the back, birdieing his eighth and ninth holes of the day to make the turn at three-under. He took back-to-back bogeys on four and five but quickly got the shots back with consecutive birdies to end in red numbers at three-under.
Christian Castillo had a top-30 finish in the event, taking home a share of 27th place at three-over after carding an even-par 72 on Sunday in his first tournament since the AGT Intercollegiate at the end of January. The redshirt sophomore was two-under through his first three holes before taking a double and a bogey with one more birdie to head to the front even. He was one-over on the day again three holes into the front but erased that with a birdie on the fourth and had one more of each for the 72.
High Point’s second-best round of Sunday belonged to Castillo’s classmate Gregor Meyer, going one-under with a 71 for his third round under-par this season. Like Einstein he had a hot start on the back, sitting at three-under through his first six. He took a double on the next but bounced back with a birdie on 18 to head to the front two-under. He got to three under on hole two but dropped two shots in his final seven holes to end the tournament at four-over in a tie for 32nd.
Adam Hooker was only one shot over par on Sunday, carding a 73 in the final round. He made the turn at one-over after bogeys on 15 and 16 and fired three birdies on the front for the 36 to end the tournament at six-over in a share of 44th. Ryan McCarthy had his best round of the event in his last 18, shooting a 76 with five bogeys to finish in 82nd place.
Charlotte took home the team honors in a stacked field that included No. 40 Georgia Tech and No. 45 Virginia. The 49ers finished 25-under to win by 11 strokes over Georgia Tech, two of just four teams to finish under par in the event. Charlotte’s John Gough won the individual title at -13 after carding three rounds in the 60s.
The Panthers are off until the end of the month when they’ll head back to South Carolina for the Furman Intercollegiate in Greenville, S.C. on March 26-28.