US COLLEGE NEWS

James Byrne joint 42nd in

"Battle of the Beach"

Banchory's James Byrne (Arizona State University) tied for 42nd place with a three-round total of 219 (72-73-74) over a par-71 course of 6,945yd in the "Battle of the Beach" men's college tournament at Pelican Hill North, Newport Coast in California.
The scoring at the top of the leaderboard was so tight that four shots covered the leading 10 finishers.
Chris Williams (Washington) (69-65-71) tied with David Lingmerth (Arkansas) (70-71-64) for first place. There was no play-off.
They finished one shot ahead of Diego Velasquez (Oregon State) (66-72-68), Jamie Marshall (Arkansas) (71-70-65) and Pontus Widegren (UCLA) (70-72-64).
Darren Renwick (Tennessee University), a sophomore student from Woking, Surrey, tied for 40th place on 218 (73-68-77) and Tom Berry, a freshman student from Surrey at San Diego State, came joint 58th in a field of 86 players with scores of 71, 79 and 73 for 223.
It was also squeaky tight at the top of the team race with UCLA (1055) pipping joint runners-up Arkansas and Washington (1056) by a single shot with Oregon State (1060) a close fourth, San Diego State (1070) fifth and Arizona State (1074) sixth in a field of 13 teams.

Rafferty joint 37th at San Antonio, Texas

Fergal Rafferty, pictured above, from Carrickimore, Omagh in Northern Ireland, a senior student at Sam Houston State University, finished 37th in a field of 81 players for the Oak Hills Invitational at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Texas.
Over a par-71 course of 6,765yd, Fergal had rounds of 78, 72 and 74 for a total of 224.
Winner was Philipp Westerman (Southeastern Louisiana) with 71, 71 and 69 for 211. He finished a shot ahead of Dustin Garza (Wichita State) (72-70-70).
Texas Tech (875) won the team title ahead of Southeastern Louisiana (877) and joint third Tulsa and Baylor (878). Sam Houston State (891) finished ninth of 15 teams.

Adam Galbraith joint 10th at Valdosta, Georgia

Webber International University, Florida's contingent of English students were all in the field for the Thomas University Winter Invitational at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Valdosta in Georgia.
Over a par-72 course of 6,940yd, Adam Galbraith, a senior student from Haywards Hill, Sussex came joint 10th on 153 with scores of 78 and 75.
Team-mate Connor O'Dell, a freshman from Taunton, tied for 20th place with scores of 77 and 79 for 156
Tom Gamble, a Webber International sophomore student from Walton-on-Thames, scored 81 and 79 for 36th place on 160 - one shot ahead of another team-mate, senior student Craig Isabel from Stanford-Le-Hope with rounds of 83 and 78 for 161 and joint 37th place.
Arvid Bengstsson (Shorter College) won the individual title with scores of 69 and 75. He finished four shot shots ahead of Taylor Welborn (Darton Community College) with scores of 75 and 73.
Shorter College (611) won the team title ahead of Johnson & Wales, Florida (613) and Darton CC (617). Webber International (621) finished sixth of 10 teams.

Clark Nelson down the field at Lakeland, Florida

Glasgow's Clark Nelson, a sophomore (second year) student at Clayton State University, Atlanta, finished joint 72nd in a field of 75 players for the Matlock Collegiate Classic at Lone Palm Golf Club, Lakeland in Florida.
Clark scored 77, 85 and 82 for a total of 244 over a par-72, 7,065yd course.
Joe Young (Georgia College) won the title with scores of 71, 67 and 72 for six-under-par total of 210
Georgia College (863) won the team honours by a shot from Florida Southern in a field of 15 teams.

Olivia ties for fourth place at Miami Lakes, Florida

Channel Islander Olivia Higgins (Charleston Southern University) tied for fourth place in a field of 90 players at the Hurricane Invitational women's college tournament at Don Shula's Golf Course, Miami Lakes in Florida.
Over a par-72 course of 6,199yd, Olivia had rounds of 72, 75 and 75 for a total of 222 - five shots behind the three-stroke winner, Christine Wong (San Diego State) (69-74-74 for one-over-par 217).
Royal Liverpool Golf Club member Laura Jones, a student at Oklahoma City University, tied for 10th place on 224 with scores of 75, 72 and 77.
Ireland's Sinead O'Sullivan (East Tennessee State) from Galway finished joint 17th on 227 with scores of 75, 77 and 75.
Ellie Robinson from Middlesbrough, a freshman student at Georgia State University, finished joint 34th with scores of 73, 79 and 78 for 230. Ellie reached the last 32 of the Ladies British open amateur championship at Harlech last June.
Sammy Vass from Tain in the far north of Scotland, a freshman student at the University of Central Florida, had rounds of 78, 85 and 79 for a total of 241 and a share of 67th place in a field of 90 players.
Sammy was playing as an individual but she joined in her team-mates' celebrations after they won the team title by one shot with a total of 894 to Georgia State's 895 with third-placed East Tennessee State (896) only a shot behind in third place in a field of 17 teams.