BURLINGTON, N.C. – Senior Taylor Zoller had a putt to tie for medalist honors on the final hole and Austin James fired a 66 and to lead Charleston Southern to second at the 2015 Elon Phoenix open, which wrapped up on Tuesday at Alamance Country Club.
Zoller fired a 4-under 67 to take third in his best finish in three tournaments as a Buccaneer. His putt on the 18th green grazed the edge and he missed the comeback putt to make his only birdie of the day, finishing two shots off the lead. He had 14 birdies and an eagle in the tournament, helping CSU surge from ninth after the opening round and into sole possession of second in the 16-team field.
"Round one was disappointing," CSU Director of Golf Mike Wilson said following the tournament. "We kind of talked to them on the course midday on Monday about competing, and they really responded. Getting Taylor's 64 and (Jake) Ezell's hole-in-one (on Monday) gave us a jolt and we were pretty good over the final two rounds."
James had the Bucs' low round of the day with a 5-under 66 to move up almost 30 spots on the final day. He had six birdies on his round and tied for 12th.
Sophomore Jake Ezell had his second career Top 10, taking ninth at even par. Ezell put a steady 73 (+2) in the final round and was even for the day after birdies on his first two holes.
East Carolina ran away from the field with a 15-under 269 in Tuesday's final round. The Pirates finished at 19-under par to finish 25 strokes ahead of the Bucs (+4) and well ahead of the rest of the field. VCU (+9) was third, five back of CSU, followed by Elon (+25) and Radford (+33) to round out the top five. The Bucs were the top team among five from the Big South and finished 29 strokes ahead of Radford.
VCU's Adam Ball won the event at 9-under par.
Sophomore R.J. Keur bounced back from a disappointing Monday to fire a 1-over 72 and finish 31st. He had four birdies on his round. Freshman Clayton Gregory posted a 79 (+8) in his final round.
The Bucs won't have to wait long to get back to tournament action. CSU will play in the Camden Intercollegiate beginning with 36 holes on Saturday at Camden Country Club.
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