ALBANY, Ga. — A third-round charge moved the No. 1 University of North Georgia men's golf team into a third-place finish at the GSW Hurricane Invitational at Doublegate Country Club. The Nighthawks began the day in fifth, but a five-under team finish, the best round of the tournament by any team, helped UNG move into the top three, as high as one stroke off the lead with two holes to play.
Noah Zediker led the way from start to finish, grabbing another top-ten finish after turning in a third-round scorecard of even-par to move to two-over after three rounds, moving up five spots to earn his fourth top-ten finish in four events.
The highlight of the day was
Hughes Threlkeld, who rocketed up the leaderboard in the final round after a six-under-par day. Threlkeld shot four strokes better than anyone in the field, moving up 39 spots for a three-over-par overall finish, good enough to move into a tie for 13th place. The junior for Savannah, Ga., shot eight birdies, with just two bogeys in the final round to help ignite the charge for North Georgia.
Stephen Kinsel finished one stroke behind Threlkeld in a tie for 15th place after carding an even-par third round, holding steady for a four-over-par finish.
Jack Vajda was right on the heels of Kinsel after a five-over-par three rounds, wrapping up the event with a one-over-par third round to earn a tie of 21st place.
Colby Bennett, playing as an individual, finished in a tie for 30th after shooting seven-over-par in three rounds, shooting three-over-par on the day.
Ethan Day rounded out all North Georgia golfers in the event, ending his tournament in a tie for 37th.
Host Georgia Southwestern took home the team title, ending the Nighthawks bid for a third straight victory at the event. GSW's Marco Trstenjak was the individual medalist, finishing the event at two-under-par. The Nighthawks will move on to their final fall season event, playing in the McCoy Wright Currahee Collegiate at the Currahee Club in Toccoa, Ga. The event is set for Oct. 23-24 as UNG will make their second consecutive appearance, finishing in third last season.
