SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Austin James finished at 10-under par to spark Charleston Southern to a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Wofford Coca-Cola Intercollegiate on Tuesday at Spartanburg Country Club.
James finished in a tie for second, his third consecutive top three finish.
The Buccaneers couldn't put a charge together in the final round despite 18 birdies and an eagle as a team. Gardner-Webb was 5-under as team in the final round to finish at 17-under, five shots ahead of Wofford (-12). Army (-9) took third, while the Bucs (-5) tied with USC Upstate for fourth.
Gardner-Webb's Vincent Blanchette set the tournament scoring record by finishing at 14-under par, four strokes ahead of James and Wofford's Andrew Novak.
CSU shot a team 287 (-1) in the final round.
"A great performance by Austin this week," CSU Director of Golf Mike Wilson said. " He put himself in position to win, but Vincent (Blanchette) finished really strong. Jake (Ezell) had his best tournament of the spring and Clayton (Gregory) hung in there today after a couple of mistakes. All-in-all a better day today, we'll get ready the next few days to win the conference championship."
James had a 68 (-4) in the final round to finish with three rounds in the 60's for the tournament. The junior played his final 11 holes at 5-under and carded his fourth eagle of the week on the par-5 first. His 10-under total is the third lowest in CSU history and the lowest since Jacobo Pastor shot 11-under at the same event in 2012.
Sophomore Jake Ezell had one of his best finishes of the season. He tied for 15th at 2-udner for the week and had five birdies in the round. He had 14 birdies and an eagle for the tournament.
Freshman Clayton Gregory was 43rd and had four birdies in his final round 73 (+1). He had 11 birdies for the tournament.
R.J. Keur was even on the day through 13 holes before a triple bogey on No. 17 derailed his round. He finished 34thoverall with a 78 (+6), slipping 20 spots in the final five holes of the tournament.
Senior Taylor Zoller had bright spots during his final round. He shot a 75 (+3) on Tuesday and was even on the front and had two birdies on the back nine.
CSU opens defense of its conference championship on Sunday at The Patriot in Ninety-Six, S.C. The Big South Conference Men's Golf Championship presented by Musco Lighting runs Sunday-Tuesday. The Bucs shot 10-under in the final round last year to seize their first title in 12 years.
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