Panthers recover at Callaway Invitational with strong finish
March 6, 2007

PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - Fortunately for the LaGrange College Panthers, the Callaway Invitational was a two-day event.

The Panthers were off their game in Round 1 of the tournament featuring some of the country¹s top small-college programs, and they found themselves in 15th place after a disappointing 332.

Everything that went wrong on Monday went right the following day, though.

The Panthers tied for the low round of the day on Tuesday with a 299, and that 33-stroke improvement allowed them to rise five spots in the team standings to finish 10th at the Mountain View course at Callaway Gardens.

Central Alabama, which won last week at the Wynlakes Invitational in Alabama, captured the top spot with rounds of 296 and 299.

Albany¹s Darton College was two strokes back with rounds of 298 and 299.

³We improved 33 shots, and I know we have never done that, and I can¹t remember a team doing that,² LaGrange College head coach Lee Richter said.

³You can throw in the towel, or you can dig deep and come back. To finish with the low round of the day, it¹s quite an accomplishment.² No player made more of a turnaround than Bo Tiller, who opened with an 85 but turned in a 2-under par 70 on Tuesday. The freshman had the best score in the second round.

Freddy Uribe, a sophomore from Columbia, led the Panthers with rounds of 79 and 74, and Ryan Willis finished with rounds of 83 and 78.

Anthony Yacovazzi was next with rounds of 85 and 77, and Tiller had the Panthers¹ fourth-best two-day score.

Ryan Howard had rounds of 91 both days.

Every player but Howard improved by at least five strokes between rounds.

³They showed a lot of heart, a lot of pride,² Richter said. ³We talked about fighting until the end and having every stroke count.² On the first day, Richter believes the players started pressing when things didn¹t go well early in their rounds.

³The problem was, they put too much pressure on themselves to do well,² Richter said. ³They got in too much of a hole and tried to get out of it.² No team in the tournament was better on Day 2, though.

³We tied some really good teams with that score,² Richter said.

Richter said he heard a lot of compliments on the Mountain View course, which was in superb condition despite the heavy rain it absorbed just before the tournament.

³Callaway Gardens was probably in the best shape it¹s ever been, and the teams were really impressed with the course,² Richter said.

Richter credits courses like Mountain View for helping the Panthers maintain their position as one of the country¹s elite small-college programs.

The Panthers came into this season ranked eighth in NCAA Division III, the first time they¹ve been rankedin the NCAA¹s top-10.

³Our program has come a long way, and we could not have done it without the golf courses that help us out,² Richter said, referring to Callaway Gardens, Highland Country Club and Overlook Golf Links (formerly The Fields).

The Panthers continue their spring season on March 17 in the Piedmont Invitational.

Courtesy of LaGrange Daily News