USCA's Goff Wins NCAA Individual Championship; GCSU Fourth

HOUTSON, TX – USC Aiken’s Jeff Goff won a playoff to capture the 2008 NCAA National Championship individual title after shooting a final-round 70. GCSU as a team finished fourth overall while USCA was seventh and Clayton State 10th.

Top-ranked West Florida (+9) carded a final round of six-over-par 286, just enough to hold off hard-charging St. Edward’s and North Alabama as both schools made up 12 strokes over the final 18 holes. The Argonauts won their second-ever NCAA Men’s Golf Championship in a playoff, becoming the 15th-straight national champion (and 23 of the last 24) to come from the Southeastern United States.

Teeing off on 10, Goff opened his final collegiate round with nine consecutive pars as he made the turn with a 35. After a birdie on the par five first hole, the Jackson, S.C. native posted back-to-back bogeys to drop him into black numbers. Following a bogey four on hole four to right the ship, Goff birdied five and six to move to one-under-par on his round. A bogey on his next to last hole, the par four eighth, moved him to even-par where he finished. The victory by Goff is his second career win in two seasons at USC Aiken while the 2006 South Carolina State Amateur Champion gave the Pacers their first individual victory of the season.

GCSU reached as high as first in the four rounds, but the uber-tough Memorial Park Golf Course took its toll on the Bobcats, as they took fourth. They finished at 12-over, just three strokes out of the three-way tie for the National Championship playoff. Georgia College carded a 287-272-28-285=1132 on the par-70, 7,158-yard course.

The Bobcat leader was sophomore Niclas Johansson at three-over (71-73-68-71=283) in 11th place. Freshman Joe Young was one stroke behind him in 17th (74-56-73-72=284). Young finished strong, going one-under on the back nine, as Johansson posted even par over those holes.

Senior Juan Bialet (Buenos Aires, Argentina) saved his best round for last, carding a 70 (72-71-72-70=285) to finish five-over in 20th. He jumped 10 spots with his effort today. Freshman Billy Shida bookended 72s for a tie with Bialet. He had an up-and-down round with four birdies mirrored by five holes over par. Sophomore Francisco Bide finished at 11-over (72-70-76-73=291) in 52nd place.

USC Aiken (+23), making the program’s 14th trip to the NCAA Championship in the 17 years the school has been affiliated with the NCAA, finished seventh with a final round of two-over-par 282. Roberto Diaz registered two birdies and three bogeys on his round for his third-straight one-over-par 71. The junior All-American finished in 10th place with a four-day total of two-over-par 282.

J.P. Solis showed why he is the 14th ranked player in Division II despite being a freshman as he produced a final round 71 and tied for 36th place in the tough 105-player field. Solis finished at eight-over-par 288 for the event. Kevin Grady tied Goff for low round on Saturday with two birdies, two bogeys, and 14 pars as the sophomore tied for 77th at 16-over-par. Freshman Ashley Smith pared his first 11 holes en route to signing for his best round of the tournament, a 73, as he tied for 93rd at 22-over-par.

The 20th-ranked Lakers shot a final-round score of 9-over par 289 to finish with a four-round score of 1,150 (Plus-30) for their Top 10 finish. In both of its appearances in the NCAA Division II National Championship, Clayton State has garnered Top 10 finishes. Former head coach Bob Hill's Laker squad finished seventh in the 1999 NCAA Division II National Championships, and now second-year head coach Barry Harwell can add another Top 10 finish at nationals to the Laker program this season.

Will Wilcox capped off a brilliant season by finishing tied for eighth overall with a 1-over 281 (66-72-74-69). He finished only three strokes off the lead of overall individual champion Jeff Goff from Peach Belt Conference rival USC Aiken. Wilcox's eighth-place finish is the second highest finish ever at the NCAA National Championship for a Clayton State golfer.

In addition to Wilcox, freshman Kevin Duncan finished tied for 60th overall with a 292 (70-72-79-71), while junior Neil McBride finished tied for 64th with a 293 (68-74-73-78). Junior Jonathan Visconti finished tied for 87th with a 298 (69-75-74-80) and sophomore Wade Binfield finished tied for 89th with a 300 (78-77-74-71).

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