EATONTON, GA – With junior John VanDerLaan shooting his second 72 of the tournament, and sophomore Christian Anderson turning in a matching score on Tuesday, 3rd-ranked Florida Southern had a final round 297 to finish the Bobcat Invitational in sixth place out of 17 teams competing.
VanDerLaan had scores of 73 and 72 on Monday, and followed that with another 72 Tuesday playing Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee's par-70 course. That gave him a total score of seven-over par 217, tying him for third place in the player standings for his team-leading sixth top-five finish of the season. In five of those, VanDerLaan has finished third or better, and he's been no worse than three-over par for any of his 26 rounds this season.
The only golfers to finish ahead of him at the Bobcat Invitational were West Florida's Chandler Blanchet and Lynn's Manuel Torres, who tied for first with scores of one-over par 211. Blanchet defeated Torres in a playoff by shooting even-par on the par-four No. 1 hole that was used as the tie-breaker. It was the first time since 2010 a golfer won the Bobcat Invitational with an over-par score. Torres had entered the final round with a one-stroke lead over Blanchet.
Anderson saw his scores fall in each round for the Moccasins, starting with a 75, dropping to a 73 in round two and finishing with a 72 on Tuesday. That gave him a 220 overall which was good for a tie for 12th. It was the third time this season Anderson has finished 12th or higher, and he's done so in two of the last three tournaments.
Florida Southern's third and fourth counters were freshman Chase Ibbotson with a 76 and sophomore Michael VanDerLaan with a 77. VanDerLaan tied for 43rd overall with a 229, and Ibbotson tied for 65th with a 234. Junior John Coultas shot a 79 Tuesday, a non-counting score for the Moccasins, which put him in a tie for 55th in the final standings at 232 overall.
Led by Torres' 71 and a 69 from Mateo Gomez, 2nd-ranked Lynn won the team title for the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last eight years. The Knights' 292 wasn't the best score of the day though, with No. 17 Lander (SC) earning that honor with a 285. The Bearcats counted scores of 68 and 69 on Tuesday with a pair of 74s as their other counters. That was enough to move them out of a 3-way tie for fifth with Florida Southern and Barry up to third place in the final standings. The Bearcats finished 11 shots behind Lynn, which had the highest winning score (+32) for a Bobcat champion since 2008 when West Florida won at +34.
West Florida was second this year, finishing six shots behind Lynn. Most of that difference came in round one when they were out-scored 291-296. It ended a streak of four straight tournament wins for the top-ranked Argonauts.
No. 6 North Alabama was fourth, finishing 14 shots behind Lynn, and No. 4 Nova Southeastern came in fifth, 16 shots off the pace set by the Knights.
The Moccasins' total of 895 (303-295-297) put them in sixth place, 23 shots behind Lynn, and three ahead of tournament host Georgia College. Barry, which was ranked No. 5 in the most recent national poll, finished in eighth place, 27 shots back.
Florida Southern has one regular season tournament remaining, with the Moccasins heading to Miami Beach for the Battle at the Shores hosted by Barry University, April 3-4.
