KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – In a tremendous performance from start to finish, senior Andres Caballero (Mexico City, Mexico) made good on the promising play of his opening rounds to tie for fourth at the Fifth Annual Newberry Invitational on Tuesday, February 19. As a team they shot a 294-297-317-908 and were just six strokes out of third place.
 
After shooting a 71-70 over the first two rounds, Caballero notched a 78 over the final 18 holes to finish with a 219 and tie for fourth place out of 89 golfers. The Lakers senior leader also added another feather to his cap during the final round as he notched an albatross, or holing out in two on a Par 5. Considered more elusive than a hole-in-one, it also helped him tie for the best performances on Par 5's.
 
Round 3 scores were markedly higher than the previous 36 holes as the eventual champion, Joel Sylven of Missouri-St. Louis, only shot a 74 and the previous day's leader carded an 85. The round featured a high of 54-degrees, 30-mph winds whipping in off of the Atlantic Ocean, to the point that the latter actually affected putts.
 
Freshman Augusto Oliva (Buenos Aires, Argentina) wrapped up a strong tournament as he tied for 19^th with a 70-75-82-227 and junior Nick Woof (Leighton Buzzard, England) had an impressive final round, particularly considering the weather. After tying for 69^th the day before with an 80-75, he shot one of the best rounds of the day with a 76. That placed him in a tie for 37^th and saw a 22 spot improvement.
 
Facing a talented field, Clayton State easily bettered No. 15 Lindenwood (17^th) and finished ahead of six teams that are currently receiving votes in the national poll. That group included Newberry (8), Columbus State (9), Arkansas Tech (10), USC Aiken (11), Lander (12) and Queens (13). Of those, USCA and Arkansas Tech only recently dropped out of the poll.
 
No. 14 Young Harris claimed the team title with a score of 896 and was followed by No. 5 Florida Southern (898), No. 4 Florida Tech (902), No. 2 Lynn (903) and Georgia Southwestern (904).
 
"I'm really proud of the guy's, especially with the conditions they faced today," said head coach Hank Kim. "Andres played a great tournament against some of the best golfers in the country. It's a great start to 2019."
 
The Lakers are right back in action next week when they head to Albany, Georgia for the Hurricane Invitational. That tournament will be played at the Doublegate Country Club from February 25-26.