The No.15 Lee men's golf team charged up the leader board in the final round of the Cougar Invitational presented by AFLAC and finished tied for fourth after posting the second lowest round of the day on Tuesday.
The Flames carded a 282 to catapult up the standings and were led by senior Corey Sheppard who fired a 2-under par 69 to finish even for the tournament and tied for 14th. Junior Matt Johnson also came home in red figures with his final round 70 and was just one shot back of Sheppard with a 214 total.
Sophomore Scott Odell finished 2-over for the tournament after carding rounds of 75-69-71 and was tied for 23rd while freshman Davis Kirk showed his potential with a 9-over-par 222 in his first collegiate event.
Sophomore Evan Spence rounded out the lineup with a final round 74 and was 11-over-par for the tournament.
"I was really proud of the start we got off to today. We played with great energy and great purpose and played some flawless golf on the first eight holes," said head coach John Maupin. "We had a little bit of lull in the middle of the round and made a few poor decisions that cost us but we were able to regroup and finish strong. We jumped up six spots from day one and had the second lowest round of the day so I was really proud of our performance. It felt good to finally get out and play in a competitive round."
Host Columbus State won the event by a comfortable 10-stroke margin over fifth-ranked Florida Tech (845, 7-under). No. 16 St. Leo (848, 4-under) finished third while Limestone joined the Flames with a 861 team total (9-over).
The Gulf South Conference featured six squads in the 18-team field with Lee being the top finisher. Delta State was ninth followed by North Alabama (T11th), Valdosta State (14th), West Georgia (15th) and Mississippi College (17th).
Max O'Hagan captured medalist honors with an 8-under par 205. Jordan Doull (Columbus State) was one shot back in second after he saw his score balloon to 77 after rounds of 65 and 64 on Monday. Lincoln Memorial's Harry Boyle placed third as he carded three rounds all under par (69-70-68) to finish at 6-under.
Our short game was really strong all week we just need to make a few more putts to really finish off our rounds," added Maupin. "Overall it was a great effort today and definitely something to build on as we head to North Georgia."
The Flames won't have to wait long to get back on the tee box as they will travel to North Georgia for the UNG Fall Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.