Rutgers University
2017 East Bay Deli Classic
Men's Golf Closes Fall with Fifth-Place Result at East Bay Deli Classic
Oct 31 | Men's Golf
Pedro ties for eighth to lead Scarlet Knights
Kiawah Island, S.C. – Rutgers men's golf closed out its 2017 fall season with a fifth-place finish at the East Bay Deli Classic Tuesday afternoon on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
After carding a two-under-par 70 in the final round, senior co-captain Toks Pedro tied for eighth in the 93-player field to lead the Scarlet Knights on the Turtle Point Golf Course at the Kiawah Island Resort.
RU finished the three-round event with an 897 (304-294-299). The invite featured a six-player lineup setup, with the top-four individual scores counting towards the team total. Tennessee captured the team title with an 873 (298-286-289), while Jacksonville State finished second with an 881 (312-286-283).
"I'm proud of the way the guys competed," said head coach Rob Shutte. "We had a tough draw with the weather conditions in the first round, but we still managed to play towards the top of the field which put us in a good position heading into the second and third rounds. While we weren't able to finish, our guys are now used to playing towards the top of the leaderboard which will set up us nicely as we head into the spring season."
Pedro moved up 14 positions in the third round to finish tied for eighth with a 222 (80-72-70). Pedro carded two birdies and 16 pars to close Tuesday with a two-under-par 70.
Thanks to three birdies and 11 pars during his final 18 holes, senior co-captain Matt Holuta tied for 14th with a 223 (75-74-74). Freshman Oliver Whatley tied for 41st with a 230 (81-72-77), while sophomore Adam Gray tied for 46th with a 232 (72-76-84) to round out the team scorecard.
Sophomore Tony Jiang (240: 85-77-78) and freshman Christopher Gotterup (242: 77-80-85) finished 69th and 73rd, respectively.
The tournament marked the end of an impressive fall season for the Scarlet Knights, as RU had back-to-back top-three team finishes at the Mountaineer Invitational (third place) and George Intercollegiate (second place) during the five-event campaign.
In just his second collegiate tournament, Whatley captured the Janney Invitational on Sept. 19 with a 10-under-par 206 (65-72-69). Holuta and Gotterup finished tied for second after a six-player playoff at the Georgetown Intercollegiate, while Pedro had three top-10 individual finishes in the fall.
In total, Rutgers finished the 2017 fall season with nine individual top-10 results and one tournament champion.
"Overall, the amount of depth and potential we have is apparent," Shutte said. "We're in position going into the spring to make a run and get into NCAA's. We left some bittersweet ones out there, but we're a team everyone now recognizes as a dangerous program. We're hungry for the offseason."
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Players Mentioned
