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  Matt Harmon Captures First Career Title at EZ-GO Schenkel Invitational
 
Harmon shoots final-round 70 to finish at 9-under-par, wins by two strokes.
 
 
Junior Matt Harmon captured his first individual title with a 9-under-par performance at the EZ-GO Schenkel Invitational.
 
Junior Matt Harmon captured his first individual title with a 9-under-par performance at the EZ-GO Schenkel Invitational.
 
 

March 19, 2006

Final Results

STATESBORO, Ga. - Junior Matt Harmon (Grand Rapids, Mich.) won his first career individual title at Georgia Southern's EZ-GO Schenkel Invitational on Sunday (March 19), posting a career-best 54-hole score of 9-under-par 207 (68-69-70) to win by two strokes. After bogeying two of the first five holes, Harmon holed out from 125 yards to eagle the par-4 eighth hole and birdied the par-5 ninth, propelling him to the victory at the 7,000-yard, par-72 Forest Heights Golf Course.

"That was huge. It was the whole tournament right there," Harmon said of his eagle-birdie finish on the front nine. "I struggled hitting the ball early and couldn't get a putt to drop. Then, all of a sudden, I holed out from 125 yards, and that got me going."

Harmon withstood a comeback bid by North Carolina's Robert Riesen, who fired a final-round 68 to finish alone in second at 7-under-par (70-71-68 - 209). Florida's Brad Doster, N.C. State's Stephen Lewton, and Augusta State's Major Manning finished tied for third at 5-under-par.

In a 15-team field that featured six teams ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 25, and 12 ranked in the top 50, Michigan State finished in a three-way tie for sixth after shooting a three-round score of 295-285-296 - 876. The sixth-place finish is the Spartans' highest finish since finishing third at the season-opening Topy Cup, and the 876 team score is MSU's second-lowest of the season.

"We proved a lot of things to ourselves this weekend," Harmon said. "We played a great second round, we're finding out who the top five really are, and what needs to be done for more success. In the fall we underachieved a lot, and our first tournament last week was embarrassing. We're turning things around and this is a good jump start."

No. 32 North Carolina held onto its second-round lead, capturing the team title with a score of 7-under-par 857 (291-278-288). No. 3 Florida shot a 7-under-par final round to finish in second at 5-under-par 859 (294-284-281), while No. 24 Kentucky finished in third at 285-288-292 - 865.

 

 

"We learned a lot from today because it was the first time in a while we've felt any pressure to go out and perform," said head coach Mark Hankins. "This sixth-place finish is going to give us some confidence back. We are learning to compete again, and they did a really good job of getting what they could out of their rounds and staying in contention."

Freshman Randy Hutchison (Traverse City, Mich.) carded a final-round 73 to finish tied for 37th at 76-73-73 - 222, while sophomore Ryan Brehm (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) finished at 77-71-77 - 225 to finish tied for 51st.

Freshmen Steve Cuzzort (Grosse Ile, Mich.) and Grant Tungate (East Lansing, Mich.) round out the Spartan lineup, finishing tied for 63rd at 229. Cuzzort fired rounds of 79-74-76 in his fourth tournament of the season, while Tungate shot rounds of 74-72-83 in his sixth tournament.

Michigan State returns to action on April 15-16 when it travels to Bryan, Texas, for the Aggie Invitational.