CAMDEN, S.C. - Senior
Matt Cowgill and sophomore
Walker Cress each shot rounds of 2-over 72 on Sunday to lead the James Madison men's golf team to runner-up honors on the final day of competition at the 2017 Camden Collegiate Invitational, hosted by South Carolina at the par-70, 6,455-yard Camden Country Club.
On a difficult scoring day, Cowgill played a relatively clean round, posting his best 18 of the weekend to climb into a tie for 27th at the 90-player tournament, closing his week at 218 (+8). Cress rebounded from an early triple-bogey nicely, playing his final 15 holes in 1-under to vault 11 spots into a tie for 31st one stroke behind Cowgill.
Junior
Shota Ozaki just missed his first career medalist honors, closing his week in a tie for third at 208 (-2), just two shots out of first, after a final-day 3-over 73. The leaderboard finish marked a career best for Ozaki, besting his fourth place finish at last season's Colonial Athletic Association Championships.
As a team, the Dukes carded a 293 on the final day of competition, holding off CAA foe Elon to capture second place (853; +13) in the 17-team field. JMU finished three strokes clear of Elon and USCA in third, while host South Carolina captured the team title at 1-over 841 after a final-day 292.
Freshman
Ignacio Montero finished just a stroke off his first career top-10 finish, closing the weekend in a tie for 11th at 212 (64-72-76; +2), while junior
Ben Tucker closed out the JMU competitors in a tie for 60th at 226 (73-75-78).
QUOTING COACH FORBES
"The guys really battled to take runner-up honors on a tough scoring day and we're all glad to see Shota have a strong weekend. We need to get back to work and keep improving our depth and consistency to take the next step."
UP NEXT
The Dukes will close out their fall season in two weeks when they travel to The Battle at Stono Ferry (Nov. 3-4), hosted by College of Charleston at The Links at Stono Ferry.