Chants Close Out Gopher Invitational With Strong Final Round

Monday, September 10

Independence, Minn.

All Day

Coastal Carolina University

2018 Gopher Invitational

Chants Close Out Gopher Invitational With Strong Final Round

9/10/2018 5:41:00 PM | Men's Golf

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Three Chants shot par or better on Monday’s final round of play

Independence, Minn. – Coastal Carolina men's golf team had three golfers shoot par or better on Monday to turn in a final team round of 285, +1, and place 13th overall on the team leaderboard with a 54-hole tournament team score of 880, +28, at the 2018 Gopher Invitational held at the Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minn.

No. 3 Oklahoma carded a final round 278, 6-under par, to pull away from the field and post the tournament win with a team score of 847, 5-under par. No. 10 Texas (850, -2), Iowa (851, -1), and No. 17 Arkansas (859, +7) rounded out the top four, while Minnesota (864, +12) and Purdue (864, +12) finished in a tie for fifth.

"We played well today. That was a great finish on the back nine and will really give us some momentum," commented head coach Jim Garren.

Newcomer Zack Taylor shot a 71, even par, on Monday to place in a tie for 28th-place overall with a three-round score of 218, +1 (72-75-71). After shooting a +2 on the back nine to start the round, Taylor carded five birdies on the front nine to shoot a 33, 2 under par, over his final nine holes of play.

"Zack's performance this week was really solid. I'm extremely proud of his play and excited that he birdied his last two holes of the day," Garren said.

After recording rounds of 74 and 79 on Sunday, senior Luis Ruiz returned to his all-conference form with a Chanticleer low-round 70, 1-under par, on Monday. Ruiz, who turned in five birdies over his final 18 holes of the event, finished in a tie for 52nd-place overall with a 54-hole score of 223, +10 (74-79-70).

Finishing tied with Ruiz in 52nd-place with a tournament score of 223, +10 was fellow CCU golfers Wes Artac and States Fort. Artac (77-75-71), who matched Taylor's final round score of 71, even par, was consistent throughout the day on Monday, shooting four birdies and 11 pars, including going bogey free over his last 10 holes. Fort (73-73-76) carded a final round of 76, +5, yet still registered five birdies for the day.

Rounding out the lineup for the Chanticleers was Morgan Deneen. The senior shot a final round 73, +2, his low round for the two-day event, and placed in a tie for 65th overall with his 54-hole score of 227, +14 (79-75-73).

"The guys were more comfortable today and now realize they can play at this level in terms of course and competition," continued Garren. "We knew this week would be tough, and we will handle this the right way and get better. We are excited for next week."

The Chants will return to competition this weekend, Sept. 15-16, at the Northern Intercollegiate hosted by Northern Illinois University at the Rich Harvest Farms golf course in Sugar Grove, Ill.

For complete coverage of CCU men's golf, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMGolf (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.