DULUTH, Ga. – The Jacksonville State men's golf team saved its best round for last at the Georgia State Invitational, where a final-round 291 pm Tuesday secured a sixth-place finish.
 
The Gamecocks were led in the two-day, 54-hole event by junior Erik Jansson, whose fourth-place finish paced them on the par-72, 6,706-yard Berkeley Hills Country Club.

"I'm really proud of our guys for their grit this week," acting head coach Robbie Fields said. "Yesterday was frustrating for everyone at times, but our focus today was staying patient and that paid off with 11 birdies in the last 10 holes. Gabe (Restrepo) and Santi (Bailleres) both closed with really strong finishes to get back to even today and Ryley (Heath) worked really hard to keep himself in the round. Erik just played really solid golf all week with only 5 holes over-par for the tournament which is really impressive on that golf course. I had a lot of fun competing with our guys this week, and I'm excited for what their continued hard work is going to produce."
 
Jansson, a native of Vasteras, Sweden, finished the three rounds of the tournament at 1-under. He posted rounds of 70-72-73 to shoot a 54-hole 215 and finish in the Top 10 for the second time in three fall events. It was his first top-five finish of the season and the third of his JSU career.
 
He played Berkeley Hills' par four holes at 1-under par, third best in the field of 87 players, and tied for second among all players with 42 pars in 54 holes played. On Tuesday, he made 15 pars and one birdie to account for his final-round 73.

"I'm happy with my game this week," Jansson said. "You should never be disappointed with a top 5 finish. I'm really proud of how we stepped up as a team in the final round and climbed up that leaderboard. We are a tight group of guys working hard every week. 'We want to be two percent better every week,' as coach tells us. We will continue to work hard and improve as a team and I'm confident that we will continue to climb up the leaderboards, another win is not far away! Finally, I would like to thank coach Fields and (assistant coach Patricio Freundt-Thurne) for all the work that they put in, it really means a lot knowing that they always have our backs out there."

Sophomore Gabriel Restrepo finished just inside of the Top 10 for the Gamecocks, grabbing a tie for 10^th with a 54-hole score of 218. The native of Caracas, Venezuela, bounced back after an opening-round 75 on Monday morning, firing a 1-under 71 in Monday's afternoon round and an even-par 72 on Tuesday. He climbed six spots up the leaderboard on Tuesday alone.
 
Sophomore Ryley Heath also finished strong with back-to-back rounds of 74 after opening play with a 79 on Monday. The Decatur, Ala., native hit the shot of the tournament for the Gamecocks, recording a hole-in-one the par-3 11^th hole in Monday's opening round. He aced the 131-yard hole with a pitching wedge.
 
Sophomore Santiago Bailleres made his season debut for the Gamecocks and tied for 60^th place with a 54-hole score of 231. The native of Carrientes, Argentina, played his best round of the tournament on Tuesday, signing for an even-par 72 after opening with scores of 76 and 83 on Monday. Senior Ross Napier tied for 67^thwith a total score of 234 (77-78-79) to round out the Jax State lineup.
 
The Gamecocks will conclude their fall portion of the 2022-23 schedule on Oct. 17-18 in the Kennesaw State Pinetree Invitational at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga.